A Season of Two Little Yellow Dump Trucks

It struck me just now that someday I'm really going to miss the sound of the two little yellow dump trucks being pushed around outside on the driveway and sidewalk, making that distinct grinding noise of hard plastic wheels on concrete and rock.  


It used to be a daily occurrence, one that I heard so often it didn't even register.  In the past few months, it has been heard quite a bit less.  Yet now, as I finish up a few things in the kitchen before heading outside to work....Anna Ruth having just been put down for a nap and a new load of laundry started, I can hear the sound of little wheels grinding away, and I realize how much joy the sound brings me.....well, the thought really.  I love the thought of my two little boys outside playing with their dump trucks.  And, it makes me realize just how quickly seasons pass.  One same day leads to the next, which leads to the next.  Each day is the same, yet ever so slowly, the season begins to pass from one to the next.  One day, you realize that somewhere in the mix of sameness, Spring has transitioned completely to late Summer, and you are headed already into Fall.  And yet, each day was the same, wasn't it?  Where were those minor transitions that heralded the end of one season and the beginning of the next?  Perhaps we lose the details in that we rarely have an abrupt stop.  It is a slow process of change, so slow that if one is not watching very carefully you may never notice until it's gone.  When is the last time you sat on your mother's lap as a child?  The last time she comforted you and took care of you when you were sick?  When was the last time I rocked Caleb to sleep in that old blue rocking chair?  I used to do it every day.  I haven't done it for years.  When did I stop?  


Each season of life brings along new and exciting changes, yet it's hard to let go of the past sometimes too.  Nostalgia can be a powerful emotion.  So, what am I to do with this present?.......with the moments that are fleeting right before my very eyes that are trapped in the sameness and routines of each day? How am I to respond?  I suppose I will cling, for now, to this verse: "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."  Psalm 118:24


And now, for me - outside I go, to work on the task I have before me this day.....and to listen to and rejoice in the grinding little wheels of two mighty little yellow dump trucks.....

Welcoming 2011

I really can't think of a better way to ring in the new year. We spent a relaxing day at home.  Mom and I cleaned out the file drawer and my huge pile of paperwork I've been putting off for months.  What a relief to start the year with new planner pages in, and my office files ready for the inevitable and endless stream of papers ahead. The boys and Grandpa B went out in the *gear shift noise* truck (our '79 Dodge) to get a load of gravel and spent their time between unloading gravel in the driveway and over the creek at the bonfire.  After dinner, Jason and I went out for a "planning date" at Starbucks where we laid out our thoughts, plans, and hopes for 2011 on paper. Then we went back to the car and gave it all over to God.  Ah, how God speaks to us regarding plans in his Word!

 - Proverbs 15:22: "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed."
 - Proverbs 16:13: "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed"
 - Proverbs 19:21:"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."....
 - Isaiah 32:8: "But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands."
 - Psalm 33:11:"But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations"

And may we not follow in the steps of whom the prophet Jeremiah spoke!
 - "But they will reply, 'It's no use.  We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.' "  Jeremiah 18:12

When Jason and I returned home, tasty snacks were laid out and the boys were excitedly waiting for our Christmas gift exchange with Grandma and Grandpa B.  DVDs, Candyland, and new 'snuggle friends' excited the boys while Anna Ruth was in love with her new dolly and furry lamb. Her eyes just lit up when she would look at their sweet little faces.  What a joy to see how our little girl responds to such things!

Games were played, stories were read, and I spent a few blissful moments out by the bonfire alone with Jason in the crisp cold air, looking at the stars against a black velvet sky......the yellow lights from our cozy home across the creek glowing in the distance.

We crossed from 2010 to 2011 on our knees before the LORD......maker of heaven and earth, and the one from whom all blessings flow.  We don't know what lies ahead in this new year......in the balance, some years are better than others.  Yet, this we do know:  "'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"  Jeremiah 29:11


And so, in this truth and trusting in Him....I shall close my New Years thoughts.  Happy New Year to all!