Biking With Sam

When your fifteen and a half year old son asks you if you'd like to go on a bike ride with him, there is no time to hesitate. You may have laundry, but it will wait for another day. You say yes, because you know how short this time is, and you treasure the days when they are still under your roof.

I will blink, and Sam will be off to college...or post-college, living on his own, starting a new career. I know how fast this time flies, thanks to my oldest sons. And so a bike ride seems like the perfect chance to slow down time and appreciate the beauty of a spring day.

The weathermen said we could wake up to snow yesterday. Ha! I'm sure that some folks did, but we escaped it, thankfully. By the afternoon, the sun was shining and the temps were warm enough to venture outdoors.

We biked to a few of our favorite parks in town.

We biked downtown, parked, and walked around to peek inside some of our favorite places.

We talked about church, and our pastor's retirement. We talked about the shortage of pastors, and hey, maybe that is a career path God is calling you to pursue! (I can't help myself...I always plant the seeds, just in case God decides to water that idea one day!)

We talked about school, and how much Sam is enjoying history and English this year, which has surprised this math and science guy. He really does like his new town and especially his new school, as it seems to be the most academically challenging school that he has been enrolled in.

I pointed out the blossoming trees and some of my favorite historic homes downtown. We must have said hello to a few dozen people who were out enjoying the weather, too.

God has taken our family down so many paths. Here, in this place, we have found community and purpose and contentment. That is a rare and precious thing, my friends. In my year meditating on the word "gratitude", I never have a shortage of things to add to the list. God is faithful, and for this I am so thankful.

And for my sons? Well, my heart is overflowing with thankfulness for them, for all of the days I spend with them, and for the young men they have grown to be. Such a blessing!