Friday, August 23, 2013

The Summer Day

It's already the end of August. When I get up in the morning I can feel a nip in the air, and soon my children will be back in school. The days are getting shorter. Summer is slipping away, and in some ways I'm ready for all of these things, but in other ways I feel like I'm just getting warmed up! It's been a busy summer and I'm not sure that I'm ready for it to end yet, I'd like a few more lazy days. I would like to fit in more ice cream, more park days, more reading in the rocking chair on my deck, and a lot more iced coffee!
My kids and I went to the park with friends yesterday, it was a delightful day. The park is very big, with beautiful flowers, and a splash pad for the children to play in. We took the day nice and slow, enjoying the play ground first, then a picnic lunch. As we sat down to eat our lunch the wasps decided to join us as well, many of them. They loved the platter of meat we had, and so we broke off pieces for them to distract them away from our food and keep them busy. They busily worked at gathering the meat and flying away with it, we watched them as we ate, and questioned why God created them. I realized that by giving them our food, we had prepared a table for our enemy, and God was protecting us.
I marveled at all the flowers in the park. My children didn't really seem to noticed that part. They were far more interested in gathering the coins out of the fountain, then throwing them back in. To them, it was a challenge to get all the coins without actually getting in the fountain. Initially, my son thought that if he gathered the coins, he could keep them. Finders keeper, right? But, when I informed him that he had to throw them back because he was not on some kind of treasure hunt, he was a little disappointed. What is the point in finding money if one has to throw it back? He didn't seem to be bothered by this at all, really, and I was grateful he was able to let go.
The kids cooled off at the splash pad. I watched the children run around in the water, laughing and being silly. I wondered what it would be like to see adults on a splash pad behaving like the children!  Children are so uninhibited, they don't look all around to see if someone else is looking, they aren't thinking about the judgments of others.  They just want to have fun, so they have fun.
Our afternoon was topped off with ice cream. We sat on park benches and at picnic tables and everyone had scoops of ice cream. The children had conversations about their favorite games, and I soaked in the beauty of the surroundings.
It was a good summer day, the kind that was filled with friendship, love, laughter, and fun. It was the kind of day that reminded me of Psalms 9:

I'm thanking you God from a full heart, I'm writing the book on your wonders.
I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; and singing your song, High God.

God continues to show me that even when there's stress, or trials, or I do not feel well, He rescues in wondrous ways, like summer days. He brings relief through my children, though friends, and through the flowers in the park. He shows me that even the wasp can work in a fascinating way and not hurt me.
Jesus, Say That Again, You will continue to bring summer days into my life!










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