In My Backyard

View from the swing in our yard.

One of God's gifts to me last night was catching a glimpse of this sunset before tucking the kids into bed.  Kids were giggling and brushing teeth, B had disappeared (I assume to follow up on some work upstairs) and I walked by our back windows to see this.  You cannot see it in this picture, but a blue heron was wading in the middle.  Fish were jumping.  I sometimes grumble about the lake not being very deep behind our house and the noise from the bridge, but when I experience the calm nights with the warm air, the light humidity sticking to my skin, and the smell of the water, all the reasons for grumbling are forgotten. 

I began wondering what my backyard in Belize would look like.  I thought that God would be extending the feeling I was having until the end of October, perhaps into November since the temperatures hover around 70-86 degrees and we'll be close to the water there too.  Huge difference between Morse Reservoir and the Caribbean Sea, I know, but isn't that how He sometimes draws our attention to parallels in our lives to the lives of others? 

I believe that God is preparing my heart for the people of Belize.  My backyard is similar, but different.  We'll have commonalities and basis for connection.  One of my faults when it comes to meeting new people is that I am terrible at small talk.  Shoot, even getting warmed up to conversation with good friends is sometimes difficult for me. I like to hang back, or stand against the wall, to watch people first and then make decisions about who to approach and how.  I want to talk to people to keep them as friends and not acquaintances.  I mean, don't we all have many of those already?  I prefer the few deep relationships I have to the light and fluffy variety.  It does make it more difficult to have a party to play cards, but I will accept that trade off. 

Thank you to all of my family, who I love to hang out with, but distance keeps me from doing so as often as I like.  Thank you to my friends that I love like family.  Thank you, Lord for my backyard and for allowing me to share backyards with others.