From the moment I took my intro to play therapy class, I knew that play therapy held a special place in my heart. I believe that the gift of presence and unconditional acceptance is most precious, and I strive to offer this to all of my clients. To hear you, see you, understand you, convey my care and delight for you, and point you to Jesus are my mission and purpose from above.
When I felt invited to start having my own play sessions with God, the thought both intrigued and excited me. I was attending a Life Transformation Seminar at a local church and during my counseling session, one of my counselors shared with me that God wanted to have a play therapy life with me. I have always been so hard on myself and put so much pressure on myself to grow and do the right thing. To think that God just wanted to spend time playing with me sounded refreshing. So, here we are today.
I love spending time with the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit and, increasingly, I love to play with them and gain the grace, mercy, peace and wisdom that only comes from above. It is my hope to share some of my experience with you and ultimately to invite you to play with the Father as well.
My first child centered session started out with art collage. During the Life Transformation Class, I was encouraged to write down lies and painful statements I say to myself at times on strips of paper. Lies that surfaced for me include "You're ugly", "You're boring", and "You don't belong." I took these lies and a few others and layed them out on a table. Then I created a father and his child on a piece of construction paper. I placed the lies on the child figure and then ceremoniously moved them over to the father and placed them in his heart. During this exchange, I had a deep sigh of releif and a few tears. The father took all my pain onto himself and into his heart so that I may be pure. "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." Isaiah 1:18 He loves me so.
After my art project, I relaxed a little and enjoyed some coffee while watching the fish in my playroom. In child centered play sessions, the child leads the way, so I went along with the desires in my heart at the moment, trusting God would set a limit if needed. While watching the fish, I decided to listen to a song "Cast Your Burdens on Him." As I listened to the song, I felt lighter and lighter until I was up dancing around the playroom.
Next I played in the sand. As I played in the sand, I was thinking of God and how He has so many treasures He wants to give us and how the whole world is our playroom. I hid the treausures next to my sandbox in the sand. I chose a figure for myself and a Jesus figure and had us go looking for the treasures together. At first, I was in a hurry to find all of them. I was encouraged to slow down by the spirit and look at each of them more closely upon finding them, to enjoy the treasures mindfully. The plastic "perfect" one was the least interesting to me. God's beauty is best.
Jesus and I got close to the end of the road we were on (the end of the sandbox :) ) and then we turned and went back. There were more treausures we would have missed if we hadn't gone back. I would have missed seeing those and He would have missed delighting in me seeing them. I realized that my play, my trust is the gift I can give to my Father. Surrender of myself. "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." Psalms 37:23
Thank you for my play session, God. You dispel all lies. You show me true beauty and adventure and you remind me that I belong to you and that you will always hold my hand and guide me. I will try, in your spirit, to "Be still and know" that you have treaures for me. I don't want to leave the play session. It has been so precious to me. Please help me to carry this love and peace with me as I go.
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