Rubber Duckie

Did you know there is a Hall of Fame for toys? This years’ two new inductees are the rubber duckie and the game of chess. Talk about extremes.

An article I read about the toy Hall of fame said the two beat out ten other finalists: bubbles, Clue, Fisher-Price Little People, little green Army men, the Magic 8 Ball, My Little Pony, Nerf Toys, the Pac-Man video game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the scooter. Did you ever own one of these toys?

The whole thing started back in 1998 when the first to make the Hall of Fame were Etch-A-Sketch, LEGO block, the Erector Set and Mr. Potato Head. Since then only 53 toys have been bestowed this honor, including alphabet blocks, the jump rope, playing cards, Scrabble and the stick. Gosh, I remember playing with most of these, except the My Little Pony, and those of a later day, like Mutant Ninja Turtles.

As a child, after hearing about Robin Hood, I tried to bend a stick and with some string make a bow and arrow, just like Robin Hood.  I also designed an amazing fishing pole with a stick, some thread and a safety pin as a hook. Neither one  actually  worked, but it was lots of fun trying. 
Soon, parents will be looking for toys to fill Santa’s bag. I’m not sure what the hot toy items are this year. One thing is for sure, the technology will be far superior to what went into making a rubber duckie. Yet even technology cannot replace something as simple as a stick. It is the toys like the stick that allow a child to imagine and wonder and transform it into something new every time.

Theologian Sam Keen talked about the loss of wonder among adults. Isn’t it interesting that the root word for wonder is the same as worship? Do you think Jesus was hinting at this when he said we all must be like children when it comes to faith and worship?

I hope we always have a sense of wonder and imagination. Maybe we all need to have a child take us on a walk through the woods to find a stick. How is your sense of wonder and imagination, and worship?