The Magic of Simplicity
This short story is inspired by Psalm 19 and the many afternoons I spent chasing after ‘magic’ in my Por Por’s (grandmother’s) backyard. I began writing this in 2018, and allowed it to evolve over time. I hope you enjoy the final version.
“The magical green water, Por Por! The magical green water!”
Growing up, nothing excited me more than seeing my grandmother fill up a takeaway container with ‘magical green water’. With the help of some rusty wire, I would lose myself in a world of liquid bubbles, disturbed only when my baby brother swooped in to pop them with his chubby fingers.
Without the Internet, computers, or mobile phones, my brother and I spent most of our childhood in my grandmother’s backyard. We had each other and our imaginations, and that was always enough.
On special days, we would have the pleasure of befriending a Fredricka – the nickname that we gave to the multitude of fluffy dandelions that graced my grandmother’s backyard each Spring. Like the rarest of all Pokemon, Fredricka’s were filled with powers and to catch one required skill and dexterity – a difficult thing for two clumsy toddlers.
“Fredricka! Fredricka! Come here!” my brother and I would often scream through puffed lungs, jumping up and down while grasping the air for an encounter with magic.
The rare times we managed to catch a Fredricka, we would take turns holding it with innocent awe.
Where does Fredricka live?
Does it have a family?
What does it eat?
All the big questions of a little mind.
It’s been a long time since I’ve believed in Fredricka’s or magic, but every time I see one floating by, I am reminded of simpler times and the ways in which God has weaved his power and tenderness into creation. The same God who roars with thunder and lightening, can also whisper with bubbles and dandelions. Day after day, creation pours forth speech and leaves me with breathless wonder, because I see God’s hand in all things, big and small.
We now live in a world where young eyes are drawn to screens big and small. Big screens that exhaust us with advertising, and small screens that wear us down with FOMO and fake news. In a world with weary eyes, I never want to lose my capacity for wonder. I want to remember that once upon a time, I found weeds and dishwashing liquid truly magical.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
– Psalm 19:1-2
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Feature image by Dominik Mecko
