The park phenomenon

When living "missionally" it's best to be in relationship with people outside your home. When you move to a new location with that intent and with a two year old that loves slides, you think that the playground would be the perfect location for such an endeavor. It seems simple enough, right? Getting your kids out of the house and providing an adult conversation with another parent is a win win! Then, we noticed this strange thing happening at the park. We'd show up with our kids and chase the running one around the various structures. Sometimes we'd spin neighbor kids on the merry go round or let them pet our dog. Then we started to wonder if we'd be ok with our kids playing alone at the park downtown and touching a strangers dog. Would we be ok with our four year old being supervised by a sibling in elementary school? Where were these kids parents? And then we saw them.

Almost every time we go to the park now we notice the same thing, kids are playing at the playground while their parents sit in their cars in the parking lot. What does this mean? Are we the suckers and overprotective or wrapped up in our kids? Do we have a complex about who they might talk to or what they might do without us there? Are we assuming the worst of our neighbors? I'd like to think our involvement is the wise choice at this stage, especially since our oldest hasn't hit three yet. But, there are kids her age just being supervised by elementary kids (or maybe I'm just old and they're actually tweens). What could their parents be doing? Texting, talking on the phone, checking their e-mail, social media, the news??? Do they just need some down time because they've been with the kids or working all day?

Regardless of what they're doing, it just means that we're not chatting it up with the adults. So, plan B, make friends with the kids we meet there and try to love on them. Why was that ever plan B? Back to plan A, love on people (regardless of age and without an angle) and pray for relationships to develop. If you're in the same spot, you're not alone, missional communities take time! "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (John 13:35)