Pretending

As a young girl, I would get out the Sears and Roebuck Catalog when my best friend, Donna Mae, came over and we would play "Choose One." The rules: 1) Take turns 2) When it's your turn, choose one item from a page. 3) It's yours! 4) If you choose to "skip," then your friend has to choose from that page. 5) You would therefore get the next two pages--without looking ahead to see if there was even anything you wanted. A risk, indeed.

This could take up an hour or more of our time. We pictured ourselves in beautiful coats and shoes, acquiring new furniture for our bedrooms, and riding a colorful bike right out of the catalog. I recall wishing that she would "skip" a page because there was an item I oh soooo wanted on that particular page. Sometimes, we were generous with each other's wishes.

When alone, I imagined myself as Peter Pan because Peter could fly; it looked like a lot of fun and freedom beyond my farm life miles and miles from anywhere. We had a tree house in our grove where there were pretend opportunities. What if I lived alone, here? What would I eat? Where would I sleep? What if someone drove down our long lane.... would they find me here hidden in the brush and brambles leading to the fortress?

Our pretending games change as we get older. Although being Peter Pan is still tempting, taking an American Airlines flight is more practical. Along with the mystery, I see the potential of poison ivy and insects when I view a grove. My current pretending has to do with reality. I'm wishing for serious illnesses to disappear, a grand child's success at school, a broken relationship to be healed.

My pretend times have turned into prayer times...

Thank goodness, we do not have to pretend with God.
Thank goodness, we have a God that hears us.