As a child I used to spend time at a large, neighborhood park. There were swings and teeter-totters, a merry-go-round and slides... all those things you commonly find in a city park. But the sheer size and space of the park are what stand out in my memory. Every time I went there I had such a sense of freedom. And the lovely, tall evergreen trees provided a canopy of shade on warm days. It was so pleasant.
I remember playing hard and running, then falling down on the cool grass to rest. I loved lying on my back and watching fluffy white clouds floating in the summer sky. I used to make daisy-chains from those tiny white daisies that grow in the grass, and always lookd for four-leaf clovers... with total abandonment as to time. The sheer enjoyment of being there was a gift.
Lord, whan I tend to get stressed or rattled, help me to remember that childhood freedom... and practice it; to slow down, lay aside my cares and to draw upon the beauty You have placed around me.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters..."
Psalm 23:1-2 KJV
© 2009 Arlene Schwartzkopf