The hardest part of my job is also the hardest part of my faith. I’ve been trying to master it for decades, but it still eludes me. There is plenty for me to blame it on.

I stepped out into the soft green grass on the front lawn of the church so I could see the faces of the kids as they sang.

I met Mary when I was nine years old, and she became like a second mother to me. Tennis matches every Saturday, family vacations to the Lake every summer, mother-daughter excursions, neighborhood game nights, in-home manicures, and scavenger hunts at the farm were just a smattering of the joyful chapters we shared.

Bike rides, alpine slides, train rides, mountain hikes. We tried to cram a plethora of fun into our long-awaited week with the 12 of us. The first miracle was that we all showed up!

The top item on their lists surprised me. I thought they would want to see the White House, the Spy Museum, or the Lunar landing module. But my granddaughter Ella, age 12, wanted to see the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

One day a week, she stuffed envelopes, answered the phone, greeted guests, and stapled documents. She was part of the cadre of women who volunteered in the main office, but there was some rare sparkle to Pat.

Children seem naturally good at play. I love watching them with the bubbles at the 9:01 service on the lawn. But somewhere along the way to adulthood, many of us lose that sense of playfulness.

Children today have more toys than children in previous generations. But they are not more playful! In his book “Play-full Life: Slowing Down and Seeking Peace,” author Jaco Hamman describes the barriers to a playful life and also the spiritual benefits of becoming play-full in the whole of our lives, not just in brief snippets of recreation.

When I was young and single, people would tell me that when you marry, you don’t just marry the man but you marry his family as well. I didn’t believe it.

When you see a person on the street corner holding a cardboard sign, you are confronted with the housing crisis. Is there enough room in the shelter tonight? Is that person couch surfing with relatives?

When I was leading the young adult ministry at our church, I tried to convince all the 20-somethings to sit together in the front pews to provide good visibility for other young guests at worship.

My mother-in-law used to say, “I take photos at family gatherings because I’m too nervous during the event to enjoy it.” After it was over, she could look back at the photos and truly savor the joy of laughter, conversation, eating pie and cookies with the whole family gathered under one roof.

“Can that wall come down?” “I don’t know, is it load-bearing?” Whether you are remodeling a church classroom or a home kitchen, you have to watch out for the load-bearing walls.

I’m still recovering from Easter. Not just from the festivities of the day which were grand, not just from the spiritual journey through Lent and Holy Week.