Just back from a pirate party for a 3 year old. It was
wonderful – the theme ran through all the decorations and costumes and food.
Well done, Jemma!
We themed birthday parties round pirates lots of times for
our kids when they were growing up – so much to use for decorations, costumes,
food, and even games.
I’m thinking, though, how odd it is that we treat violent,
brutal outlaws as if they are cute and fun. (A little like the thunder-snow of
my blog the other day, how we enjoy flirting with danger but don’t really want
to be bitten by it.)
There is an aspect of human nature that is drawn to the wild
side. It’s just not cool to be too ‘Pollyanna-ish’ – an expression from my
American growing-up years where Pollyanna was a movie heroine who was so good
she just couldn’t be real.
And yet...
Why should we think that? Maybe we’ve believed the lie that
we’re all basically awful, even more heartless than the animals. When the truth
is that we were created in the image of God, who is love, who is pure, who is
good. Yes, he gives us free will and we can choose not just to flirt with, but
to become totally enmeshed with, the ‘wild’ side, but it’s our choice.
It might be good to celebrate some heroes who don’t make
people walk the plank, who don’t murder and steal, so that our children have
better role models on whom to base their understanding of who they
intrinsically are.
Yes, we will all make wrong choices and mess up, but deep
down, we want them to remember that they are sons and daughters of the King of
Kings.
