Simple Joy

You prayer warriors are good. Real good.

I asked you this morning to pray for delight and joy in the moment.

I was handed that in spades tonight.

Eliana was a late walker. Which means last summer she wasn’t really mobile yet – other than a ridiculously hilarious crab crawl when outside.

This lack of mobility meant that she never got to experience the joy of dashing through a sprinkler.

Until tonight.

It started with Daddy just doing a little extra watering. Then carrying his girl on a run through the sprinkler.

Pretty soon they were dashing after each other with peals of laughter.

I started with my iphone, but quickly realized this was an occasion to pull out the big camera.

The big camera that has been sorely neglected of late.

This was a rare opportunity to capture my squirmy, stubborn almost-two-year-old completely in her element, and completely oblivious to the camera.

I’m pretty certain I had as much fun capturing the joy as they had creating it.

And for a blissful, fleeting hour in the twilight of the evening all cares, and fears, and burdens, and wonderings, and tension were washed completely away.

And I quite happily was caught up in the moment. A first that will never quite be the same ever again.

Halted by the purity, and beauty, and innocence, and sheer bubbling joy.

And triumphantly hoping in the day when sorrow will be a mere, distant – perhaps even beautiful? – haze of a backdrop against which joy shines all the brighter.