It’s been a week of changes, but I haven’t forgotten the blog. I was looking at past posts and remembered the day I spoke of back in 2016 and how much I enjoyed getting out to the park. Something that no longer happens. Life can be like that, but God gives us peace and other things to enjoy and to be grateful for. Good memories are a gift I am thankful for.
Refreshment
Krug Park, St. Joseph, MO
Sometimes, when the world around you seems to be closing in, squeezing the breath right out of you, when there are decisions to make, and bills to juggle, and so many people you care about are hurting, and you want to do more – sometimes you just have to grab the camera and seek out another world. You pull your ancient wheels into a park at the end of town you grew up in, wander over to look at the lagoon with the fish and ducks, and suddenly you feel you are being watched. Whirling around, wondering if you’ve finally lost your senses, you have to laugh in delight. There he is, on the other side of the parking lot, half hidden behind a mound of grass and rock. He stares right back at you. Cocky. It’s his place after all, and you are the intruder. He starts to turn away, then stops as if he realizes the camera you are bringing up to focus is meant to capture the power of his presence. One click, that’s all you get. Then he turns his back on you and moves away as if you are of no importance at all. With a deep sigh, you watch him go behind some rocks before you turn back to snap some pictures of a tiny sailboat someone is maneuvering across the water.
Little kids are at the other end, throwing bread into the water over the metal guard rail. Time ceases to exist except in the moving of the sun in the warm afternoon. A breeze moves the branches of the trees bordering the lagoon, and the smells of water, food, fish, and flowers ride the breeze. A child giggles, and you have to smile. God has given you exactly what you need. A reprieve from the battle. The wonder of His creation to refresh. Tomorrow? Another day full of the same challenges. But right alongside them are new mercies and the assurance that you are never alone in this journey of faith.
A Life of Faith 