Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Basking in the Afterglow of a Beautiful Weekend

Yesterday, as I aired sleeping bags, returned unused food to the cupboards, and sorted filthy laundry--all the aftermath of a glorious weekend in the wilds-- a hymn kept knocking on the door of my heart..."For the Beauty of the Earth". Usually it's the first verse of a song that comes to my mind, but what was running through my mind while cleaning up was instead the third verse.

"For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild:
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise."

Today I'm grateful for....


...my friend who calls my young daughter "sister",


...young men of three families uniting in friendship,


..."best friendships" that survive the distance and months between play days,


...and the joy of a shared moment while watching our young daughters explore God's creation.



The scenery was beautiful, the campfire cozy, but nothing compares to the beauty of friendships renewed and continuing to grow and enrich our lives.