How God is Like Shaving Cream
God is Like Shaving Cream.
I used to teach confirmation class. One day, I was running late. I had shaving cream in my car because of another long story I will tell you later. Then, I had a wonderful, very messy, but wonderful idea for an activity. When I got in, the girls were already sitting in their seats. I started taking out cardboards from the recycling box by the door and putting them on the floor in front of me. Some girls looked at me quizzically, others were used to my random activities, so they kept doing what they were doing.
“Okay,” I said. “I have an idea!”
The girls gave me their usual, “Oh fun!” looks and all gathered around my area now all covered with newspaper. I got a chair and I stood on top of it with the can of shaving cream on one hand.
“Okay,” I said again, wondering how this would turn out, “I need a volunteer!”
My girls, knowing me, asked if this was going to be a messy activity even though they knew that it would be. Finally, I got a brave volunteer who stood in front of me.
“Okay,” I said for a third time, praying that everything, in fact, would be “okay” and work out as I wanted it to. “Put your hands in front of you as if you were going to receive a platter of cake.
My girl laughed and put her hands like I had asked her to.
I opened the shaving cream and began making a tower on her hands. The girls around her began to realize that the shaving cream would tilt over, so they formed a circle around her to prevent the now huge tower, since she was on her knees and I was on the chair, from tipping over. Soon, the shaving cream tower was being held by fingers all around in a circle. Some participated because they wanted to touch the fluffy shaving cream. Others participated because they were honestly worried we would make a mess. Others participated for the peer pressure, but they all participated.
The rest I will summarize for you. Yes, we made a mess. Yes, they got shaving cream on each other. Yes, we cleaned it up. Yes, everyone found out we had played with shaving cream. No, I don’t regret it.
When everyone had settled back into their places, I asked, “What just happened?”
“Well,” started one of them, “You put shaving cream in her hands, but before long it was way too much for her to hold on her own, so we all helped”.
“Yeah,” laughed another girl. “And then there was shaving cream everywhere!”
I’ll tell you what I told my girls. God is like shaving cream. Just a little bit of God goes a long way. Even when we can’t see Him anymore, He leaves behind smoothness and a sweet smell. God is too much for just one of us to hold and understand. We need each other. So, when understanding God becomes too much for us when we feel like the world is falling on top of us for loving God, turn to someone who also loves God and talks about it. Finally, God is like shaving cream because, in a way, kids get more out of their relationship with God than we do. When a kid sees shaving cream, he or she wants to play with the shaving cream. In a much greater form, when kids who love God think of Him, they think of a father, a friend, a buddy, someone who loves them, someone who they want to share everything with. Instead, many adults see God as adults see shaving cream: as something to use only when you need it. Many adults only turn to God in times of trouble or sorrow. We need to have a more childlike heart when we pray to God. A child does not know limits, and when it comes to God, neither should we.
