I saw them
right away from my 3rd story balcony. At first, she was standing in the surf and he
was taking her picture, and then he walked into the water and she took his. She had rolled up her blue jeans to her knees
and he was covered head to toe in golden brown Carhartt overalls, soggy now at
the bottom. I was on the way out to the
water myself, and when I came close, I noticed that his right hand was only a
claw. He looked at me and said, “That’s
the biggest dang pond I’ve ever seen.”
We laughed and I asked if they’d like for me to take a picture of the
both of them together. She was delighted
and handed me the camera. Turns out they
were from Oklahoma and had travelled several days just so they could see the
Atlantic Ocean. They had only arrived
that evening and were not disappointed.
(How often I take that “pond” for granted.) We didn’t exchange names or such, but I
remember when we parted, each couple going off in their own direction, the joy
I was feeling inside for having met them for that very brief moment. And I wondered…
Early the
next morning my husband and I were once again out taking our walk, and there
they were. Again, they were not
difficult to spot. At least he wasn’t.
He was wearing Oklahoma Sooner’s crimson and
cream. We greeted each other again, and I
asked them how long they would be staying and she said, “Oh, we’re leaving this
morning.” I couldn’t help but think to
myself, “You mean to tell me you drove 2 days, over 1000 miles one way, and are
turning around to go home in less than 24 hours?” But they did and they were. When I asked if they’d like another picture,
she lifted her camera from around her neck and said, “No, but could I take a
picture of you -- our new Georgia friends?”
And so we posed…
And again I
experienced joy … and wondered.
JOY. Paul told the Galatians it’s a byproduct of
life in the Spirit. His indwelling
produces a natural outflow of joy. Yet he
told those in Thessalonica to BE joyful always. What that tells me is that I am to CHOOSE it! That joy is not an emotion but an act of my
will. And I guess its counterpart would
be that when I have a bad or sour attitude, when I grumble or complain, I’ve
chosen that as well. All are heart
choices. Ouch…
It has been
over 6 weeks and I still think about that nameless couple from Oklahoma. Do they know Jesus? Nothing tells me they don’t. But the scent of joy they left behind in
their wake says to me they just might.
Choose joy.
Just an
ordinary moment…
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