This is a real place. I get to see it and experience its beauty at least once a year... One of my favorite roads, my favorite places. I like to drive it, but more often I like to walk or run or bike on it, so I can really feel the air and hear the sounds and see the brilliant color. You know how you read about places that are part of your soul? Places that refresh you, soothe you, make you feel at home and at peace? That's what this place is for me. So on one of my many runs, walks and hikes, I stopped and took time to just drink in this view... The blue sky, blue water, and the pretty wild flowers that cover so much of the landscape. I thanked God for some of the things summer brought me this year:
-Thankfulness. That one hundred years ago my great-grandparents thought this was a pretty place to "summer" and started a tradition that continues today. That my cousins and my siblings see it as our family gathering place, where we can all see each other at least once a year. That my children love it as much as I do. That my husband gets why I want this to be my permanent place some day - he knows how we feel when we're here and how we hope someday we can feel that way all year long.
-Growth. My husband continues a season of personal growth and change. My kids are growing and spreading their wings. They each got to experience some out-of-their-comfort-zone camps this year... And they made friends and opened their minds but held true to their beliefs. And then we came back together, and it was good. I'm seeing the strengthening of all of our roots and wings.
-Prayer. A different kind, some days, where I tried to focus my mind like my JOY study says. Praying less about the asking and more about the gratitude. Praying less about myself and more about the troubles of the world, which seem so overwhelming right now. And praying for those who cross my path, even briefly, like the two young girls, who I met within a week of each other, who lost their mothers to cancer. They were sweet and kind and fun to be with, and I'm glad I got to meet each of them - it helped me remember how blessed we are with our health and our relationships and our time together.
Once again, before we left, we hiked the loop trail that is part shaded, quiet forest and part sunny, open field. I was reminded again about the parallels with life - times of darkness, times of solitude, times when the sun blazes above and all is bright and happy and warm.
With the right frame of mind, the right heart, we can feel joy and see the good in both the forests and the fields. We can be equipped to handle the good and the bad, the joy and the pain, the sinfulness and the restoration.
I always come home from this view refreshed, ready to take on another challenging year.
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