In my side yard hangs a blue plastic swing with yellow ropes. It has been there for fifteen years and is still in excellent condition. The only thing it lacks is a child. It has served all our grands when they have come to visit (which is never long enough). The first one to use it now has a driver’s license. If the swing had a memory I wonder if it misses her. I do.
How grand to be a swing and carry children heavenward. When a child is tiny they get very short rides upward. But as the months pass by we hear, “Higher, Grandpa, higher.” I’m not sure if I recall any of them ever asking for me to stop. It is I that grew weary. I should not have. Why is it that we rarely treasure moments until they are gone and irretrievable?
One of the joys of being a teacher is to take students higher and higher. I want them to catch a vision of a better life. I want them to see that a life of service is the richest life possible. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. The world is bombarding them with a message of materialism and self-gratification. Fortunately, I have them as a captive audience for thirty-six hours throughout the semester. That is a rare privilege with golden opportunities to effect change. I seem to hear God say, “Higher, take them higher.” Not a class must go by without a passage from His word and prayer.
I like our blue and yellow swing. Someday it will hear a delighted little voice say, “Higher, push me higher.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 11, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org