A Walk In The Park

Saturday we went with our daughter Connie and her husband Thane to Farragut State Park. It was an absolutely fabulous day with sunshine and temps in the 60’s. As we ate lunch, a bald eagle soared on the warm thermals above the calm blue waters of Lake Pend Oreille. It is a place of peace and tranquility and many people were like us who brought the family dog along to enjoy the afternoon. In fact, I think it was golden retriever day at the park. Maddie and Sadie enjoyed meeting the other red dogs but Sadie growled at other breeds. Sadie and I walked out on the docks where you can look down and see the bottom of the lake fifty feet below. I felt blessed to live where the water is so clean and clear.

Farragut is a recreational area that draws outdoor enthusiasts from Idaho and Washington. You can mountain bike on miles of trails, bring you horses for trail rides, llamas for pack trips, dogs for walking, fly model airplanes, play horse shoe, camp, boat and fish, and play disc golf. The park’s origin was far different. Farragut was established during WWII as a naval boot camp and training center. Thousands of sailors trained there before shipping off to war. Not much is left of that era; mainly a water tower and a large one story building that was a brig. A memorial has been erected to those who served in the war and as I touched the sailor a realization swept over me that I was touching history. I had the privilege to personally know a few men that trained at Farragut and on Saturday I said a silent thank you to them. Their sacrifices make it possible for us to enjoy picnics and a walk in the park.

I had different plans for Saturday, working in the shop on an order and possibly fishing later in the day. God had other plans for me. He knew it would be better for me to rest and enjoy the warm day with the family. Being a work a holic, it would have been easy for me to come up with some excuse; but I knew God thought differently. I could feel Him nudging me to go. John Eldredge has a new book out called Walking With God. John says we can’t walk with God if we don’t listen for Him. Unfortunately, many of us busy ourselves with work and meaningless activities so we miss out hearing from the Father. Then there are those people who don’t think God wants to communicate with us. He sent Jesus to offer us life; now and eternally. Jesus told his disciples that they would be hearing from the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. They did and so can we if we are tuned in to God! It requires us to take the clutter out of life and really seek the Father. Through quite time, reading the Bible, and prayer we can hear the voice of God. What will surprise you is the voice is like hearing from a friend.

Through a simple walk in the park, I heard from God!