Editor’s Note: Playing Like We Should

Sarah Eshleman
Editor in Chief

Thirty seconds. A panel on the desk wiggled loose.

Twenty-five seconds. If I could complete the puzzle, the panel might open.

Ten seconds. The final piece snapped into place, the panel gave way, and I retrieved the artwork.

Three seconds. I dashed across the room and smashed the red button.

Our escape room guide burst into the art museum-themed room to congratulate my friends and me for escaping at the last second.

Though they rank high on my list of favorite fun activities, escape rooms aren’t the only way I play. I enjoy board games like Wingspan, Ticket to Ride, and Azul. I relax in the evenings solving crossword puzzles. On weekends, I sit at my favorite coffee bar chatting with baristas who serve drinks with names like Butterfly Effect and FOAMO.

Still, I confess with Steve Golden, author of “When God’s People Play” (page 36) that I don’t always play as I should. Between turns on a board game, I check work emails. When watching a movie, I slip into the kitchen to wash dishes. While I’m reading a novel, my mind drifts to the magazine articles waiting for an edit. Determinedly, I grind on, refusing the relief that play provides my worn-out gears.

Our culture offers unlimited streaming services, movies, amusement parks, books, video games, concerts, sports events, virtual reality experiences. Yet I wonder if all this amusement is often a desperate attempt to smash a red escape button.

Whether avoiding play or overindulging it, our concept of play can be disordered. But rather than merely distracting me from an unpleasant reality, the best kind of recreation taps me into a realm of life that I often overlook—the joy of small things, like the intricate illustrations on board game pieces or the explosively delicious combo of hot sauce in coffee or the way my dachshund’s pupils widen as I launch his ball.

As you peruse Answers magazine, by all means, absorb the content, but don’t miss the vibrant artwork, the wordplay, the details that entice you to delight in a layer of God’s creation that the monotony of life might obscure—like the vitamins in your lunch, and the surprisingly fast formation of the gems in your jewelry. Far from mere amusement, God-given play enhances small delights that awaken a deeper gratitude to our Creator who has given us all good things to enjoy.

Speaking of good things, when you’re done reading the magazine, be sure to treat yourself to our crossword puzzle. And remember—have fun!