Falling In The Dirt, Playing In The Dark, And Running With The Ball...

On Sunday night, the Thomas' invited me over for a life-changing barbecue :D Those guys know how to cook. I had all the ribs I could ever want, buffalo chicken dip that changed my life, and a blueberry desert that didn't just hit the spot, but blew it away! And they sent me home with some more :D

I spent most of the evening hanging out with the coolest guys in the world. That would be Christopher, Tyler, Cole, Wyatt, and Trevin. We were also joined by diva Madison, who sat in a chair in the driveway, and proclaimed "When I sit in this chair, I'm the boss!"... That girl cracks me up.

I can't even count how many games of football we played. I was a terrible quarterback, I once threw three interceptions in one game of two on two! I was seriously awful. I couln't catch either, but I did like running with it when we played three on three later. We chased each other around, gunning for the pigskin all evening until it got dark. We then proceeded to play some extreme hide-and-seek games that were big were i'm from. Games like Frankenstein and Indiana Jones. We ran in the dark, exhausting so much energy simply to outrun our opponents to successfully arrive at "base." Occasionally, we'd trip and fall flat on our faces in the dirt, but we didn't care. We'd even hide on a dirt/clay hill to avoid being seen by our 'enemies.'

I've loved spending time with these really cool friends of mine, and the others that I've hung out with through Hope Youth. Even though I've been in a leadership role of this ministry, and I've been hoping to teach these students something, the surprise has been how much they've taught me. At their age, they have this mind-frame that they typically never acknowledge, or recognize in themselves. It's called "disregard." Sunday night, they disregarded the energy it took to play football uphill on asphalt. They disregarded how muddy their clothes or shoes were getting. They disregarded that the games were blanketed in the dark, making it hard to see, walk, or run. They disregarded every factor except the one principle that every young person can't live without... That factor is called "fun." Although fun has many forms, fun to them involves disregarding what seems normal, easy, or safe. Unless it has some sort of challenge, or outward daring, it can't be fun to them. Everyone grows up, but not everyone matures. But is there a neutral boundary that could be sought that combines growing up as a mature adult without prompting for to much regard? Regard to if your shoes are getting dirty? How good or bad of shape you're in to run? Or regard to caring whether or not you fall flat in the dust on your face?

The answer: I'm not sure, but you better believe I'll search for it. Because there's no better fun to me than the fun that involves disregard. Disregard to falling in the dirt, playing in the dark, or running with the ball...