Embrace the Simple


It has been on my mind and heart for quite a long time now to develop a blog. I felt as though I have given the gift of certain stories and encounters in my life which may be meaningful to share with others. 

So, now that I have finally acted on the idea, it landed on me to resurrect this special (and somewhat spiritual) encounter in the early days of 2015. 

The day was January 2nd. Our family was in “recovery” mode from another busy, stressful, and joyful holiday season, and vacationing in southern California. What better place to recover than the beach.

The encounter emerged rather innocently. The five of us walking out toward the ocean, wondering how we were going to find ways of entertaining ourselves. After all, for those as spoiled as us, we seem to constantly need something to entertain us.

One of us…I can’t remember who…picked up an old, cracked yellow Frisbee.

And then it happened.


One after another, our family joined in. And, for almost 2 hours in a large circle of five, we played Frisbee.

We even nicknamed our Frisbee…Inka.

No one complained once that this was lame. No one wanted to quit. No one thought they weren't good enough to participate. No one even made fun of anyone else's throw.

We smiled. We laughed. We were unified... And Jesus smiled too.

There was encouragement ("nice catch"). There were no distractions. We weren't in any hurry and didn't need to be anywhere. No one was in competition, and no one was better than anyone else. Everyone contributed.

No one even checked their phone.

And for a moment, no one wanted to be anywhere else. We found value in the simplest things of life. There was a message to be heard in all of it, but at the time it wasn't even about that…

Why must life be so complicated, so stressful, so anxious?

Must vacations be all about doing, seeing, visiting, eating, and fretting? Could they include time shared together with a new family friend “Inka?”

Can we pursue a simpler life? Can we take some time to just bask in a simple, unskilled, zero-point to it all game and spend quality TIME together?

Can we carve out more times like these? Actually look for them?  Crave them?

Here’s to the times when we embrace the gift of a broken Frisbee and some time to kill.

Ever had one of those??


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