thankful for: swings

Ever have one activity that just takes you back to your childhood??
Mine are swings. I have always loved swings! I do not know why but I always felt so free every time I would kick off that first time knowing I could go higher and higher if I just pumped my legs. There is not a care in the world when you are on a swing. You can go as high as you want or as slow as you want to.
My favorite ride at amusement parks were the swings as well. Roller coasters always scared me but being in a little bucket of a seat only held up by chains as you swung higher and higher never seemed to. I would always just tip my head back and put my arms out and close my eyes and just for a moment I would pretend I was flying.

Swings have always been associated with happiness for me. Pure, unfiltered joy. I recall memories with swings at the beach with my family, at playgrounds with friends having good conversations while swaying back and forth, and memories of our old play-set in my backyard that my dad built us. Swings are always moving. I guess you can say I can relate to that. I am constantly moving. If I sit still for too long I feel like I am going to explode! After traveling with Axis for a year and a half you would think I would like that I am in one place for a while. As much as I love camp I am starting to go stir crazy. I do not think we were made to stay still. We were created to evolve and change. Although this is a very post modern idea, it sometimes seems that the only constant in life is change. I never want to feel stuck, like I am not moving forward or growing. That is right as you just sit in a swing. You cannot sit in a swing without moving. I think it is impossible. It is like eating one potato chip. I dare you to do it! It is hard. You cannot live a life without movement.

It seems that when I start to get comfortable I start to move again. More often than not, there is something pushing me toward movement again. There are times I jump at the chance to move with it and others I am digging my heels in the ground gripping for the swing to stop. God seems to like to throw a twist in every now and again. Yes, currently I am physically in one place for more than 2 days. Yes, that is weird for me because I do not see myself leaving any time soon. Emotionally and spiritually God has been pulling me back on a giant swing. This time I seem to be resisting. I am comfortable with swaying back and forth with my feet on the ground but He wants to send me flying forward to where I can lean my head back, close my eyes and stretch out my arms.

So I am thankful for swings that remind me of childhood, joy and the feeling of flying!