Mary Poppins

Catherine and I went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway this Saturday to celebrate her birthday. We both agreed it was the best show we've seen yet - the sets were just amazing and the story wove together the different books by P.L. Travers books so well.

My mind couldn't stop buzzing during the entire show, which led to many many tweets. Possibly my favorite scene was when Mary took the Banks children to visit their father at the bank. While they were there each was given a bit of money, to which the children stated the denomination of the coin. However, the person who gave them the coin stated, "No that's the coins worth, its value lies in what you do with it" How true! We often mix up worth and value, trying to make what we value total what something is worth, when really we determine the value of things by how we approach them.

The other thing that struck me was the idea of Mary Poppins being "practically perfect" and trying to get the Banks children to venture with her towards such perfection. How often do we view being perfect as something stingy and boring, two words that most certainly did not describe Mary Poppins. She helped the children reach into their imaginations and live out being their best possible selves. What are we trying to make the word perfection into in the church? Would we accept laughter, joy, and creativity as part of our spiritual disciplines and marks of moving towards perfection?