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Take Time to Play

Josiah was eight years old when he began his thirty-one-year reign in Jerusalem. 2 Kings 22:1

In today’s scripture we see that Josiah became king when he was only eight years old. A boy named Joash became king at age seven and a young man named Manasseh became king at age twelve (see 2 Kings 11:21; 2 Kings 21:1). These boys were forced to grow up quickly!

Many people feel they were forced to grow up too fast, just as the young kings were. Maybe you feel that way; I certainly did. When people have to grow up too quickly, they lose something precious and that loss often leads to tremendous emotional problems.

As adults we should be able to accomplish things in our lives without feeling burdened. We should be responsible and yet lighthearted enough to enjoy our everyday lives and even our work. In fact, I believe we should be able to enjoy every single thing we do. Some years ago this fact was brought to my attention because I realized I was at that time past forty years of age, married with four children, and yet I could not say I had ever really enjoyed much of my life.

Not being permitted to play will steal a person’s childhood and his enjoyment of adulthood. My problem was thinking I had to deserve every bit of fun, enjoyment or blessing that came my way. Now I have learned to work until quitting time and then leave whatever I am doing for the next day. If you and I don’t do that, we open ourselves up to burnout—and once we get burned out, it’s hard to recover.

The good things that come to us in this life are given to us by the Lord (see James 1:17). He wants to give them to us. He wants us to enjoy life to the fullest. If you lost part of your childhood because you had to grow up too quickly, pray and ask God to restore your joy, your childlike faith and your ability to celebrate life.

Love Yourself Today: Form a habit of taking time to do something lighthearted, something you really enjoy—just for the fun of it!

From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer