Living Hospitably

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Living Hospitably

reflections by Troy Cady

Welcome can be so much more than a one-time, one-way event. It can become a perpetual openness to give and receive. Real welcome does not wait for the other to enter one’s space. A welcoming person moves outward towards another, curious, wanting to know the other. And the best welcomes are progressive. A kind word is a good beginning, but a listening ear, a happiness to waste time in the doorway of another’s space, and a willingness to be vulnerable…these are the postures that lead to fuller welcomes. Whether we realize it or not, every day is an invitation to extend welcome not only to strangers, but also to offer richer, deeper welcomes to those we already know.

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PlayFull's mission is "to help people play from the inside out." We believe playfulness is more mindset than method. To tap into more encouraging thoughts like these, we invite you to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Thank you for reading!

i think i should know you

i feel like i should know you.

Remind me.

Was that you i saw

working harder for

a smaller reward?

i might have been there

that morning

after the night-beating;

you were drinking black coffee,

circling job leads

in the paper’s classifieds,

willing to take any job you could get.

Surely a person of such

strength and enduring dignity,

a person such as yourself,

i could not forget.

i think that was you

i saw carry on,

disregarding those lewd words.

Were you put in your place?

How you appear to have risen,

still to rise much more.

i think i heard

your (out)cry once.

i recognize your voice,

but not as well as i would like.

You bring a certain

unmatched intelligence

that has been the subject

of my negligence.

i’m sorry; i think i should know you.

i think i should know you by now.

…………………………

i think i should know you

by troy cady

on International Women’s Day

Friendship

"Good Old School Friends" by Aman Shrivastaya on Unsplash. Creative Commons.

Friendship—what a gift! When you find a true friend, you find someone who will not judge you when you fail. A friend is someone who knows you well, someone who knows your little quirks, your strengths, your weaknesses, those moments you’ve risen to life’s challenges and those other times when you’ve felt so dog-tired you’ve only felt like saying, “Whatever; I don’t really care.”

If you haven’t connected with a friend like that in a while, we invite you today to reach out to them, just to let them know how much they mean to you. Do it today for you never know what tomorrow holds.

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PlayFull exists to help people "play from the inside out." We invite you to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Thank you for reading! 

how loved

if you only knew

how loved you are—

there is only one need—

see how the infant

just swallows,

how Mother nourishes

her Child,

such speechless adoration,

care and affection,

safety, protection—

what beauty,

this loving instinct,

how patiently

Mother teaches us her way,

a way that can only

be learned by invitation

love requires no intellect,

just presence—

and Mother is present

to her Child,

no distractions,

just attention,

acceptance,

no questions asked—

if you only knew

how loved you are

……………………………………

how loved

by troy cady

Thank you for reading. We invite you to like PlayFull on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. May you know God's joy in deeper and deeper ways.

reflections on going nowhere

Sometimes life feels like a series of stumbles as I grasp for reassurance that what I’ve decided to do is (or was) the right thing to do. And what I often decide is typically arranged in a linear fashion: I want to get from point A to point B.

Simple.

But life doesn’t work that way. It’s very disorienting, I must say. I think it must be very infrequent that one can say, “This is what I want and here is a sure-fire way to get it.” I think that often we change what we want in the midst of the “getting”—or we discover that the way we’ve chosen to get what we want is really not the way to get it. That path leads to something else. So, we stumble.

Sometimes I think life is the art of making peace with the fact that, though we may stumble, yet there is a grace which holds us in our stumbling. Can I live graciously in the midst of such ambiguity? That is the question. If so, how do I do that?

Lord, there is so much I simply

do.

not.

know.

Sometimes I feel like I’m just stumbling my way through life; meanwhile, the culture around me says I need to get my act together and figure out what I want to make of myself. Can you believe I’m in my late forties and I still haven’t decided what I want to do when I grow up? Well, believe it—‘cause that’s me, y’all.

I wonder if you can identify?  

And I can’t help but feel this is precisely what faith is for. Yes, it’s time for this doctor of theology to take his own medicine, methinks. Believe there is a goodness at work even in feeble fits and starts. May the eyes of our hearts see such goodness in a reality that meanders perhaps more than we would like.

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reflections on going nowhere

by troy cady

photo: “Info” by Steve Johnson on Unsplash 

do not despise small beginnings

Do not despise small beginnings. A single seed became a verdant orchard. Every human life gestates and must pass through infancy before it can reach maturity. Relationship is built on simple, intent listening—a generous gesture that often goes unnoticed because it begins with a commitment to silence our own thoughts and words.

Respect small things. Don’t underestimate the potential inherent in hidden faithfulness or the kind word spoken to someone you may never see again. Patience compounds interest. Relatively speaking, a hug is only momentary but to the runaway who returns home and is embraced by her family again, it means eternal welcome. How refreshing it feels when we make a habit of saying to ourselves each day, “What new small thing can I learn today?” How often I forget to just keep learning, to stay open—yet, how good it is to do so! An apology can be short and sweet, but how hard it is for us to do just that small thing sometimes—yet what a difference it makes.

You never know what wondrous music might break forth by just starting with a few notes. Play the notes you can and trust that, when the time comes, you’ll know what to play next as you open yourself…to play—such a small beginning, such a small grace, the soul’s way of smiling.

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do not despise small beginnings

by troy cady

*photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

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We hope you found these thoughts encouraging and we'd love the chance to encourage you more--so we invite you to like PlayFull on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Thank you for reading. 

my prayer for today

Father,

I don’t know what tomorrow holds

but I know your grace is enough

to carry me through today.

So, today I let go of fear

and ask you to strengthen me

with the assurance of

your good intentions for all.

Today, I let go of the hurts

that angered me yesterday;

help me to forgive and

nurse no malice towards anyone.

Today, let no bitter root grow;

let no despair be grounded in doubt.

Instead, let hope, praise,

and gratitude flourish.

By your grace,

I say no to confusion.

Jesus, center me.

Spirit of God, make me simple;

captivate my heart with your singular love;

saturate my mind with wonder for your truth;

direct my words and actions

to reflect your beauty.

Make me happy

to do even a small good today.

Show me how even the most mundane task

is infused with your glorious delight.

This day, I dedicate all my doing,

thinking, and speaking to you,

moment by moment—

let my every breath

be a gift I give back to you.

Help me seek first

not my own way but

your rule in my life—

and, as I do so,

provide just what I need for today

and protect me from harm

both from within and

from without.

Make me strong

in gentleness and humility.

Help me be willing and glad

to be that servant

who goes unnoticed,

who serves not for recognition,

but just for the privilege of serving.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds,

but I pray you grant me these graces

just for today.

………………….

my prayer for today

by troy cady