Tim and I travelled down to Idaho for a whirlwind Canada Day to July 4th trip to visit with family. Before embarking on the plane I was thinking potato fields… turns out Idaho has a lot more in common with Jasper, Alberta than I would have thought. (Including handsome cowboys!)
We wake up at 4am tomorrow to be back in Toronto by end of day Sunday… more people pics to come when we get home!
This weekend I took 5 SJT youth on a leadership retreat. Good choice.
We debriefed our year together, planned and worked, cooked great food. More good choices.
Chalo is a fun youth worker and friend. (GREAT choice.)
Going down the rapids with the kids, all in life jackets. Kids had an amazing time. Maybe… not the safest thing in the world. OK choice. (I was the only one who slipped and killed my shoulder. I’m going to the doctor in a couple of hours.)
The next day after the rapids adventure #2, I decided that it would be fun to “float down the lazy river” after our last rapids run. As I hung back in the deeper waters with the two boys, the light girls raced on ahead of us. As I heard their yells of joy, I thought “how fun!”… but as we got closer to the rapids, I realized… they were screams of terror. They had serious fear in their eyes. The way-too-shallow water raced, pushing them along. The boulders sat. Pummeling the children as they bumped along. They were looking at me with this “We trusted you!” expression and I found myself yelling as we torpedoed along “THIS WAS A BAD CHOICE!”
We floated by my in-law’s cottage and they stood at the balcony, looking on in disbelief. As we pulled ourselves out at the sandy embankment at the bottom of the decidedly un-lazy river after the longest 5 minutes of my life, one sputtered as he crawled out “so this is what it feels like when you finally reach land after being shipwrecked…”
Bad choice.
To prove they all survived…
I’m off to the doctor’s and considering getting them to check out my head in addition to my broken shoulder.
It’s sunny and peaceful in our backyard and I am surrounded by shades of green and the sounds of birds and a gentle breeze rustling the leaves. I am at peace and filled with what is not far from a heavy heart.. but its just a full heart, grateful and filled with reverence at the undeserving. Tim encouraged me to replace the stolen camera and I am heavy with the grace he has extended to me in this. Irresponsibility should beget true loss, not freely given and replaced. In this space of heavy gratitude, I am reminded that my understanding pales when contrasted with salvation. I do not think I understand with any weight of responsibility this true gift I really have been given. Far more meaningful than a camera.
But today, this gift of a camera points me in the direction of gratitude. And my gratitude shall manifest itself in far too many pictures for one post. In no particular order, here are just some of the many things that have been my focus in the last month.
Reading: Three Cups of Tea (and loving it)
Listening: Peaceful Sunday morning backyard sounds
Looking Forward to: Cooking something for the first time in weeks, doing the dishes, maybe quilting, church tonight and resting…
