GOD IN GIGGLES AND SCRAPED KNEES

I write this week’s reflection from the newly revamped Launceston Bike Centre, where my daughter is attending her friend's birthday party. Around me is a swirl of scooters, bikes, rollerskates, face-painting, balloons, scraped knees patched with colourful band-aids, sugar-fuelled giggles, and parents swapping stories over coffee. To an untrained eye, it might look like bedlam. To mine, after twenty years as an educator, it looks like life in full bloom: the spirit of adventure, the joy of shared song, and the unity found in a slice of birthday cake.

Richard Rohr often reminds us that what appears to be chaos is often the place where God is most present. Our tendency as adults is to want to tidy, order, and control—but Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:14 challenge us otherwise: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” In the laughter, the stumbles, and even the tears, we glimpse a Kingdom where love is abundant and joy is unrestrained.

The Gospel calls us not only to tolerate this so-called “messiness,” but to enter into it with open hearts. Rohr might say that such spaces are where grace is hiding in plain sight. When we stop resisting the noise and the imperfections, we begin to see the holiness of life as it actually is: unpredictable, interconnected, and alive.

May we as parents, educators, and a faith community learn to find God not in perfect order but in shared humanity. Whether in the playground, the classroom, or at a birthday party, the Spirit is at work—reminding us that the Kingdom of God is not far away, but in the laughter of our children and the simple joy of being together.

Mr Casimir Douglas

Saturday 13th September, 2025