The Enchanted Woods

Two days ago, Grampy took the little ones for a walk. They returned, wide-eyed and out of breath, as they burst through the door. "MOM! We found a waterfall!!" They told everyone around the dinner table about their "secret hideout." I guess that negates the "secret" part.


 The following day, they begged me to take them to their "not so secret any more" hideout. I looked around the room at the piles of laundry begging to be folded, the dishes pleading to be washed, the paper work waiting to be filed, the furniture choking on dust and my stinky armpits screaming for a shower.  I had much to do. I told them to wait.   The sun was moving across the sky, reminding me that there were only a few short hours left of daylight. I sighed in exhaustion.  I will always have "so much to do," but my children need to know that they are at the top of that list! I dropped the laundry in the hallway, told the dishes and paper work to wait and slathered on extra deodorant. I called the little girls (sidenote: they informed Joel and I that they do not like being called "little girls" any more.) 


 So, I called the "old ladies" and asked them to take me to their secret hide away. They were more than willing! On the way down the driveway, we grabbed a friend who knew the way.... :) 

We walked for about 5 minutes, and suddenly we were there!  I was shocked that I drove past this little area every day and never noticed it. This was no secret hideout. It was an enchanted forest! 

A place where little girls could dream and pretend to be whatever they wanted. 

The excitement was spilling from their eyes, ears and mouth. They couldn't wait to walk in the water!

As the girls took off hand in hand, I sat in awe of our Creator. I tried to take it all in. I want to remember this moment. I want the images burned in my mind. I try to engage all of my senses. The sun was streaming in between massive trees, creating pockets of happiness along the water. The girls were wading around the water holding hands. Shades of green and brown were encircling me.  I listened to the beauty of the birds singing mixed with mini water falls and giggles.  When I'm 80, I hope I'll remember this day.


Ann Voskamp writes about the danger of being rushed in her book, "One Thousand Gifts." It really opened my eyes to how I was living.  We live in a fast-paced world, demanded by clocks and to do lists.  We are in a constant hurry to get to the next thing.  Sadly, in our hurrying, we miss beautiful things. 

In hurrying, we don't stop and take time to smile at faces around us because we're too busy grumbling about how long a line is or why a car is going so slow in front of us. In hurrying, we fail to say "thank you" to our great God.

Look around you. What do you see? Laundry? Messes? To do lists? Mud all over your daughter's jean shorts?


 Look harder.  





"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting." -Psalm 118:29

I guess I created a little extra laundry for myself that day.....but you know what?

There will always be "to do lists." There won't always be little ones begging to take you to their "secret" fort.