Sometimes, Friday Fun Days may not be exactly as you plan, but how about just making it the best you can?
We had to return to my home state to honor a great man whom we will miss dearly.
We couldn’t stay at our “regular places” due to the recent hurricane that had left devastation in its path.
We couldn’t eat at our “favorites” due to the same demise.
We couldn’t take time to spend with all the loved ones with whom we desired due to having to come and go so quickly and staying at a further distance.
But we took the hours that we could just to make the best of the trip that we had.
We sat out on the beach in the early morning hours and just soaked in the wind and the surf.
We took an adventure to shop for some fun souvenirs for our boys.
We enjoyed an amazing dockside seafood fare and savored every morsel.
We stopped at a fun little coffee roaster and drank in the delightfulness.
Then, we said our sorrowful goodbyes, packed our bags, and headed back home.
Sometimes, Friday Fun Days might not seem so enjoyable, but if you search hard enough, you might just find a little sunshine peeking through those clouds.
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:15-16
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Let the sun deepen the glow and bring strength to my soul…
My mind settles from all the distractions…
My eyes rest from all the blinding pain…
My ears relax from all the blasting rain…
Just breathe deep…
Exhale slowly…
And my focus can return…
My vision can reform…
My hearing can be revitalized…
Just another minute… and another…
Just a little while longer…
And my heart can begin to sing again…
“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?”
There is so much truth in this statement, it almost hurts to embrace it.
If you’ve never hiked a strenuous trail, this may not be a reality for you.
If you’ve not experienced the deep exhale of stiff action after a treacherous climb, you might not quite understand.
But if you’ve climbed Brasstown Bald in Georgia for the first time on a hot August afternoon…
If you’ve used your trekking poles to achieve the heights of The Chimney Tops in the Great Smokies…
If you’ve had to take a break as you traveled toward the top of Mount Mitchell in the Blue Ridge…
If you’ve had to slow to catch your breath as you stretched toward the heights of Pike’s Peak in the Rockies…
If you’ve questioned your abilities as you pushed toward the peaks of Mount Rainier in the Cascades…
And if you’ve ever struggled in life to achieve more than the day before… if you’ve stayed up all night and the next day just to get the job done… if you’ve beat your chest through the turmoil, the heartache and depression just to reach the other side of sanity…
Then, you might just understand and appreciate this statement.
Because if you’ve ever climbed the malicious mountain to experience the refreshing breeze and behold the overwhelming landscape of the summit , you’ll fight and claw to encounter the next ascension.
“Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong…”
Sometimes, it just doesn’t seem like a Friday Fun Day.
As a family member, a great man who made you laugh till you cried, suddenly breathes his last…
As a hurricane, that’s not traumatic in size but traumatic in results, rips through your hometown wreaking havoc and demise…
As distant family members try to pick up the pieces of their lives and dreams…
As church family members die or become deathly sick, and all involved wonder if that precious saint will suddenly walk those streets of gold…
As calls of desperation filter in from various places, each needing help, restoration, healing in some form or fashion…
Sometimes, it just doesn’t feel much like a Friday Fun Day…
However, this is that thing we call living…
And you either put on your hat of perseverance and move forward with a strain and a push, or you’ll get trampled in the gate of ambition and determination…
Or worse, you’ll garnish that cloak of heaviness and despair and enter your grave while walking on your feet…
So, you look up and glimpse the sunlight peeking through the clouds…
You look beyond the debris and see the sunset light up that western seashore…
You look through the demise to find a hidden treasure, a cherished heirloom, a forgotten dream…
You look into the eyes of that neighbor, and despite the pain, you smile and embrace…
You remember the good times of friends, the memories of the fun, the love of family, and the sweet goodness of God…
You see the resilience to repair, the fortitude to rebuild, and the temerity to thrive again…
You watch the horizon of dreams as they creep over the surf as bright as the sun, brightening the path to another day, another aspiration, another hope…
And you smile…
For the Friday Fun Day will return…
If only for this moment held deep within your heart…
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.”
I love this quote, and I think we all should live by it more than we do. Too often, we wake up everyday mulling over the failures of yesterday, allowing those regrets to overwhelm us to the point it is difficult to take a step forward.
This should not be the norm! Yes, we make mistakes. Yes. Sometimes, those mistakes come with heavy consequences, and yes, we should always learn from those and not repeat them!
However, if you are constantly stepping back into that cell of discouragement, worthlessness and mishaps, you will live your life in the prison of defeat!
Get up! Start anew. Today is a new day. Today, you can have a fresh start!
Begin again… you can do this hard thing called livin’! 😉
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
When did you fly away from childhood heroes and boyhood dreams?
When did you run down the trail to new horizons and discover new landscapes?
When did you walk into the footsteps of your father and become a man?
It seems to have happened so fast, and yet, I was there for every joyous moment.
I was present for each and every scraped knee and hidden tear shed.
I remember the little boy behind the mask, and yet, I see glimpses of him late at night when the lights go dim.
I remember the fast beating of your heart as you dreamt of the mighty warriors’ flights and the swords defeating the dragons.
And yet, I still hear that beat to a different drum as you seek to find your way in this great big world and glance back to see if I’m still watching, waiting, hoping for one more embrace.
I love you, my son, and shout to you across this chasm of the unknown.
“Run, fly, chase those dreams! You can do this! This is your time to shine!”
“You were made for this moment!”
Never forget, He will always be right there with you, and I will be here cheering you on, always ready to welcome you with open arms.
❤️
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
the grizzle grist mill 