…go there

The thistles have outdone themselves in our back yard.  It was hot outside, not a hint of a breeze even to cool me off as I worked.  Rick had sprayed the weeds, and they had started to topple over, but I knew I would have to pull them to completely get rid of them.

So I was ornery having to spend so much time getting rid of these nuisance weeds.  Didn't I have better things to do with my time?  

Sweat streamed down, and my lungs felt my exertion, making me feel lightheaded.

Here I have been trying to count my God-given gifts and be grateful.  And all I can see are thorny weeds!  

What is there to be grateful about weeds?

As if I weren't crabby enough, one stubborn weed had the thickest stalk and it was not budging.  I went and got a trimmer and hacked away at it.  I thought I had loosened it just enough.  So I leaned over, and with my gloved hands, pulled with all my might…

and bam!  I fell back, square on my behind, my glove flying off as my hand hit the thorny pile of weeds  by my side.

Ouch! 

And yet... suddenly, all I could do was laugh.  

How ridiculous I was being! 

With a handful of thorns now anchored in the palm of my hand, I went inside to have Rick free me of them.  

As he sat there quietly plucking out the thorns with a tweezer, my mind slowed down.   These weeds are the epitome of summer- my favorite time of year. They're green and ripe with life, because of all the rain and sunshine we've had.   They're strong, and stubborn.  In a way, they are a shining example of how I need to be to continue to fight my way beyond cancer.  

I went back outside.

By the time I cleared out a patch, I felt such peace.  

It takes effort to turn our thoughts back to blessings, much like it takes effort to deal with the weeds.  But the work is so rewarding when we view it through the right lens. 

It was a blogging friend, and writer, Julie Garmon, who inspired this post with her own post "Forgetting What's Broken."    Thank you Julie!  

A trip to the lake last weekend was a blessing of pure abundance.  The wind was pretty strong and our launch off the access was rocky.  The waves were topped with white-caps and our boat jarringly took us over the waves, bouncing us hard out of our seats.

But the views on this lake are not to be missed.

We soon found our way over to the point.  Its shallow enough for all kinds of boats to gather and for friends to hang out.  

But the "attraction," is just on the other side.

The "mansion," is breathtaking.  Simply stunning each time we've driven past it on the lake.  

It stretches on and on and is hard to get all in one photo.

It was several years back when the owner was away, and our friend, a property manager, took the boys  to see the golf holes in the back, and then we all took a boat out for a ride.  Everything is so pristine, we tiptoed across the lawn, not wanting to disturb any part of it. 

But on this day we were merely passing by… blessed to be invited to visit friends at their beautiful lake home.

It doesn't, in case you were thinking…  "does it get any better than this?" 

And this little cutie… whose eye had an unfortunate encounter with a dresser the day before.  But when I asked if I could take his picture, he knew exactly what to do.  Can you get over those blue eyes? 

We left with our stomach's full, our hearts filled, and our lake dreams as big as they've ever been.  

Thankful to our friends for being such gracious hosts to us! 

What brings you joy, friends?