21 Summers...

On Sunday, Kyle and I took the kids to the lake to celebrate Independence Day with my mom and dad.

It was a wonderful day.

At the house, we played cards and watched movies. The kids climbed up and down the bunk beds no less than 100 times. Once we were on the water, we enjoyed a boat ride, tubing and a relaxing swim in a quiet cove.

And at the end of the day, so much fun had been had that we decided to stay the night and enjoy it all again the next day.

{Tubing}

{Cooling off in the cove}

{Searching for treasures on the shore}

 

While we were on the water Monday afternoon, I thought to myself...

My parents bought this boat when I was 13.

I've soaked up  21 summers of sunshine right here.
Swam in these very waters more times than I could count.

And I remembered so clearly the days that I sat in the back seats with my feet propped up on the side wondering what life held for me.
A husband? A family?

There on the water with my husband and children, all those years behind me seemed to have passed like mere moments.

Once again I was amazed at how quickly life moves from one season to the next. Gone before we know it.

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

James 4:14

And it made me want to...
snuggle my babies
kiss my husband
thank my parents
visit my grandmother
laugh with my friends
not just read, but know my Bible
lift my hands in praise to my Heavenly Father
honor Him
bring Him glory
serve Him
go where He sends me
love His people
tell them about Him, His love, His Son
and not waste another moment of this precious life!

Only one life, 'twill soon be past.
Only what's done for Christ will last.
-C.T. Studd