I love summer. I think I must have been on the flower planning committee in my previous life. There is nothing that soothes my soul like the beautiful world we live in. Especially in summer.
Last weekend we went to Franklin and it was exactly the spirit renewing experience that I have been needing.
One night we went up to Willow Flat for tinfoil dinners and a hike up to the spring. The path follows next to the spring creek as it tumbles over beaver dams and winds through the beautiful green trees, bushes and flowers.
I soon found myself behind because I kept stopping to look at the way the flowers grew around each other and in natural flowing clumps. Perfectly in balance.
In the evening shade I watched a couple of dandelions close their flowering heads and I realized that they are beautiful. At home I would have pulled the yellow heads off in disgust but up on the mountain trail they fit just perfectly in the landscape. Everything has a purpose.
When a big fat shiny beetle scurried across my path I stopped to watch him make his way. At home I would have smashed him and thrown him outside.
As we were walking back we ran into Darren on the path. As he and I walked along he remarked that the beauty of the mountain is how we know that we have a mother in heaven. I mentioned that I wish she could teach me how to make my yard look like the beautiful mountainside. The thought immediately popped in my head, "I already have."
I'm so grateful to live in a land of beauty where the earth as it has been created is appreciated by the people who live on it.
On Sunday (Father's Day) we went to the Franklin cemetery where we could honor and remember all our fathers. The night was perfect. Just cool enough for short sleeves in comfort. The sun was setting behind us and there weren't any bugs. Darren and his mom, Elva told us about our many fathers. They shared so many stories about their lives.
I especially love one story about Darren's dad. LaVar and his brother were walking along the dirt road that leads from Logan to Franklin to attend the celebrated Idaho Days parade. As they walked along the dusty road in their bare feet, a big black car pulled up and the door opened. The man inside asked the boys where they were headed and they replied that they were going to the Idaho Days parade in Franklin. The man in the car offered them a ride and they climbed in. He took LaVar's cheeks in his hands and asked "do you know who I am?" LaVar didn't recognize his benefactor. Then the man told him that he was the prophet. The boys were thrilled and their mother was embarrassed that her boys met the prophet barefoot in their dusty clothes!
I am grateful to be so blessed. It's always so nice to have things put in perspective. The truly important things don't change. There will always be something more to be purchased or fixed but in the end, time spend learning about eternal truths is where my true riches lie.
