Skipping As a Posture of Joy

"When was the last time you had permission to skip? Was it possibly when you were five years of age, or maybe with your son or niece? There is something intrinsic to the motion of skipping that is exhilarating, playful, and frees our bodies to soar. And you may wonder how skipping could be a form of prayer. But there is a relationship between play and prayer. Both may take us by surprise. Both may seem like wasting time. One of the verbs in the Old Testament, translated to skip, is also translated to play. We need postures, gestures, and movements that allow our child to come out, that foster celebration and play. We are told in the Gospel of John that 'you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free' (John 8:32, NIV). Let us permit the truth to run through our blood, sing in our cells, dance in our fingers.

"The important element in this exercise will be geography — a geography where our souls can soar through our bodies. An open field, a country road, a park, or the seashore, are ideal places to just skip. If you are so fortunate as to live by the ocean, the hard sand at low tide is perfect for skipping. It is hard enough to hold you, but soft enough to cushion you. Concrete is not conducive to letting you bounce around and enjoy freeing your body in skips or leaps.

"When you have found a place, or it finds you at some point, just try simply skipping. Skip in big motions, little motions, with your arms in full swing, or maybe down at your side. Do this for at least long enough to let this motion sweep you into freeing your body from the sedentary postures we are all used to. As you engage in this motion, just enjoy the act of skipping. Don't feel you have to think of anything in particular, even some devotional thought; just enter the act of skipping.

"At a later time reflect or possibly journal how it was for you to skip. How did it feel in your body? Was it a familiar feeling? Is it something you want to cultivate more in your life? Does it enable you to let go just a little bit more? Skipping allows us to let go. It is a posture of letting go and releasing the motion through our bodies, the wind through our limbs. You may find it helpful to let this become your prayer of letting go — letting go your anxieties to God, your pain, your disappointment. Or it may mean letting go your need to have control about something. In your letting go, may the Spirit of God skip through you, and may you praise God in the skip!”