Whereas a year is a wondrous fleeting thing, and there is no time like the present and no present like the time right now.
Whereas a holy, motley manner of roaming, foot-sore rabbis, gurus, saints, sages and mystics all concur that we mortals may glimpse The Infinite Incomprehensibility only by sitting with a child at play.
Whereas one ancient wanderer in particular muttered quixotically, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Whereas that of the greatest worth may not be measured in spreadsheets, charts or productivity, but actually in crayons, s’mores, dandelions and many other incarnations capable of yielding utter squealing joy.
Whereas except ye see signs and wonders, ye shall not believe.
Whereas worms need to be rescued from sidewalks; whereas puddles need to be stomped; whereas pillow forts need to be carefully constructed and joyfully toppled; whereas even the rainiest roaring days need to be filled with awe and wonder.
Whereas one bright-eyed child once told me, getting is good, but giving is gooder.
Let it be hereby resolved at the start of a new year to say “Yes!” more often to children and, therefore, “Yes!” to more love and wonder.
ANDREW TAYLOR-TROUTMAN is pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church, a congregation in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and has a certificate in narrative healthcare. His recent essays have been published online at Mockingbird and his poetry at Bearings. He and his wife, Ginny, have three children.
