A Saturday in April

Aaaahh, Saturday.
No baseball.
No call.
No birthday parties.
No obligations AT ALL.
Just quality time with my people.

We had big plans to take a picnic to the lake and use my in-laws' boat. We spent an hour getting it ready for the water, washing it down and filling it up with gas for the first outing of the season only to discover a service issue. The boat ride was out on hold for another day. I confess I was bummed.

But under the leadership of my husband, we adjusted our sails and punted. We picnicked at the marina while Daddy dealt with the boat. Then we found a state park on the lake and took our fishing, swimming and snacking gear there.We attempted a little fishing...no luck.

We tried to swim in the cove..."too cold," "muddy," "rocky," "scary."
We rested on a blanket and stared up at the canopy above..."a little uncomfortable."
We played on a playground.

When I think back on the day, it is tempting to classify it as a failure. Despite our plans and our work, nothing went quite as we expected. Yet, tonight, when I flipped through the photos on my phone, I saw something else. Smiling faces of children who had a whole uninterrupted day of carefree adventure with their Mom & Dad.

It wasn't perfect. (Life so rarely is!) It was real.

I am reminded of how frequently we are faced with this choice: mourn our interrupted plans (like the disciples on the road to Emmaus..."but we had hoped...") or embrace what IS.

It seems I have a lot more joy when I choose the latter.

For like the disciples, I can miss what is right in front on me if I am too busy focusing on regret over 'my plans' not being realized. Focusing on our unrealized plans can skew our perspective and blind us to the glory of what is. I don't want to miss it.

"For godliness with contentment is great gain." I Timothy 6:6

*by the way, the photo editing app I used for these photos (instagram for iphone) is making me very happy..and it is free!