We’re walking by, and suddenly…

“Who put that there?” You cry.

A tire swing hanging from a low branch of a gnarled, wise tree.  The tree is old, and the path is too; but the swing is new.

You jump on and start swinging.  Your smile is brighter than the bright blue sky.

I’d like to go home.  I’m tired from our busy morning.  But I sit down on the grass and watch you.

The breeze rustles through the reeds on the other side of the fence, and I feel God’s peace rustling through my heart.  Sweeping away the worries of the day, like the wind sweeps clouds across the sky.  I spy a few geese, resting, playing, like you and me.

I remember what my friend said, just an hour ago, when we sat across from each other at the table.  “Parenting teens is hard.”  She nodded towards her own precious big kids.  “Enjoy these moments; that’s my advice.” 

So today, I’ll take that advice.  I’ll watch you bounce and run across the field, your curls bouncing behind you.

Watching you, I relate to busy mamas everywhere.  We’ve worked hard to wrap up the school year.  We’ve wrapped up lessons, wrapped lunches, and wrapped our arms around tired children.  Now we’re done, and summer has come.  Isn’t it time, now, to rest… and to let God wrap His loving arms around us? 

“For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest…

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.”

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 11.

Praying for rest and restoration for you today, mama.  And maybe a surprise tire swing or two.

Leaning on Jesus,

Laura