Sunday, August 3, 2008

Down by the River


Yesterday was midsummer, so we are half way until fall, when we will all rejoice for some slightly cooler air. SO...

I went out to sweet Danielsville yesterday to celebrate midsummer with some beautiful folks. Some old friends and some new. We went to the Broad River. I'm sad to say I have only swam in those waters once before in my life. I have never fully appreciated the river as I grew up near the Oconee which is red and muddy and plenty filthy from runoff into it, so swimming in there was not something I have ever wanted to experience. We went to a place I probably couldn't find again and swam in this deep pool of water called the Rooster Tail. The water was just the right temperature and the current was just slow enough that you didn't have to fight it to swim or just float. I laid on my back and just let the water carry me a ways. It was beautiful. Just me and myself and my thoughts after all the air had pushed itself out of my ears. I looked up and watched the clouds and the breeze in the trees saying nothing, just experiencing the beauty of where I was and what I was doing. I just smiled the whole time. After bathing in the sun and the river we went back to celebrate MidSummer and gather around a fire sharing in bread and wine and giving thanks for the bounty of the harvest as that is what we now enter at midsummer. I found that I am thankful for the ability to be thankful. I'm thankful that when life throws me lemons I try my best to turn it into lemonade. There are so many people who take their woes and wallow in them and sometimes I do to, but deep in my heart, I know there will come a time where this will just be another step in the crooked path of life and I am thankful that life's path is a little crooked because I can better appreciate the life I have been given and be thankful for the wonder-filled world we all share in. We also shared in some great songs. We were singing I'll Fly Away and I remembered how when I was a little girl on Sunday mornings my dad would just sing that song to himself the whole time he was getting ready to go to church. He was always so happy when he sang that and I found myself wondering if he still does that. (I'll be asking the kids about that). Fellowship is so rich in my community and I feel eternally thankful to get to be a part of that. I'm just thankful for everything today...

May the wind take your troubles away....

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