Numbering our Days

Ahhh.   What a fabulous week of camping!

5 days of bliss with friends, fun and food at Daingerfield State Park in East Texas.  Recharge for the soul.  Smiles for the heart.  Our group has been camping together for 20 years!  Every summer (or spring, depending on schedules) we get together for a long weekend of camping. 

We've watched our kids grow up through the years, laughing, playing and loving every minute of it! Nothing like getting back to nature, away fromt the phones, the tvs, the malls and just spending time re-connecting. And surprisingly, all our kids still enjoy it, even now that they're full grown with kids of their own! Go figure. Maybe we're on to something!

Here's our week of camping in pictures:

Home, Sweet Home!

Hiking

Volleyball

Home-made Ice Cream

Campfire Sing-a-longs

Water Fun in the Kayak

Ladies Craft Time

Gluing on the Star!

The Finished Texas Flag!  Gorgeous!

Nature's Very Own Easy Chair

Touched by Beauty this week.

A blessed week to be sure.  Friends help shoulder the load, share the grief and bring laughter back into my life.  We packed and headed home with a lighter heart, ready to face the daily walk once more.  And even as we passed the gates of the state park towards home, my phone rang with news...

A good friend's mother just passed away from a massive heart attack.

Suddenly.  No warning.  Woke up with excruciating pain, called for her daughter, who made it to her side in time to call the paramedics.  She never even made it to the hospital.

Gone.  With a suddenness that takes your breath away.  Jana had no time to call for her dad or her sisters before her dear mama was gone.

Today she was laid to rest.  But the family mourns with a grief that is overwhelming.

And I think to the verse,

"Lord, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

~ Psalm 90:12

For who among us knows the hour that our life will be demanded of us?  None of us are promised tomorrow.  And how do we live our life, our days?   My mom knew her pancreatic cancer was terminal and yet, she fought to see each new sunrise.  Jana's mom never knew that Tuesday's sunrise would be her last.  Do we know?

What a gift we are given each day.  Life.  A sunrise.  Hugs from a friend, love from my family.  Home-made ice cream and swallowtail butterflies.   Lord, don't let me squander even one minute.

Teach me to number my days and gain a heart of wisdom...

May your Grace continue to abide and guide, Always.