Playing Pretend: Reframing the Everyday in these dry bones

There are days when life feels like a quiet performance. We show up, say the right things, move through the motions—smiling when expected, producing when necessary, holding it together just enough to be perceived as fine. It can feel like playing pretend in the most ordinary, exhausting ways.

There have admittedly been days (perhaps even years) in the past when I have played pretend. Simply showing up in a certain manner because I was expected to. And the reality is, I played pretend well – the job got done and I performed in the way that was expected of me that pleased others. The reality was – I played pretend in a landscape of dry bones. Some of the bones were mine and some were those of others – some were comfortably familiar to me while others remained foreign. Regardless, playing pretend in a field of dry bones is where I lived.

In Ezekiel 37:1–14, the prophet is carried by the Spirit into a valley filled with dry bones—bones that are not only lifeless but long removed from memory, from hope, from possibility. God asks Ezekiel a haunting question: “Can these bones live?” It’s a question that echoes into our own lives, especially in seasons when parts of us feel brittle, disconnected, or beyond repair. And if we are honest, we know what it’s like to stand in that valley. We know what it is to keep functioning while something inside us feels hollow and dried-up —going through the motions while wondering if the breath has quietly left the room.

There is a lesson in Ezekiel’s vision and one in which I have found myself reflecting on in the past few years. Scripture tells us that there is a rattling, and bones come together. Tendons and flesh appear. Breath enters. What once seemed impossibly lifeless becomes a living, breathing community. So, What is the lesson?

The lesson is simple: In our own lives, the Spirit moves in quiet, unseen ways. In the spaces where we feel most dried out—emotionally, spiritually, relationally—God is not absent. God is inviting participation. Speak life. Act as if renewal is still possible, even when you don’t believe it. This is the lesson.

So, if you find yourself going through the motions, playing pretend in a valley of dry bones, unsure if anything is shifting – take heart. The valley is not a dead end! Even here—especially here—life is still finding its way back into the bones.

Blessings to you on this journey –