A Time to Contemplate

This past weekend was the Dewberry Festival here in Small Town USA. It was a time to show off recipes using Dewberries (like a wild blackberry kinda) which was really silly since they don't ripen around here for another three weeks or so. But be that as it may, we had our Festival. There were vendors of all kinds trying to sell jewelry, knit goods, t shirts (many of which bordered on vulgar!), leather goods, more jewelry, makeup, yard art, you name it it was most likely out there. There was a car show going on and lots of visiting with folks from town that you maybe didn't get to see often. Oh, and can't forget the chili cookoff!!! That was going on on the other side of the pond. But at the pond. Now, let me tell you, there was some serious work going on. Every year at the Dewberry Festival, they have a kids fishing contest. The above pic is Little Critter doing his imitation of Huckleberry Finn. There were over 400 kids under the age of 16 out there at this one fairly small pond. All seriously trying to catch the biggest or the longest fish in their age category. All striving to win the coveted trophy saying they'd caught the biggest or longest fish for this year. What bragging rights!!!!!

Dodi and I were sitting there watching and helping several of the kids that didn't have parents nearby or whose parents were busy talking and didn't notice when Jr got his line all tangled up with 4 other kids' lines. We'd patiently walk over, show them how to easily uncross the lines and not have to cut everything off and leave a mess behind. We spent 4 hours doing this. It was hysterically funny at times. Those kids, especially the 8-10 yo boys, wanted so badly to know everything......and often didn't know anything. But as we'd try to explain or show them how to fix their problems, the little faces would glow with pride as they fixed it "all by themselves!" and the grins would stretch from ear to ear. It made me stop a couple times and wonder if that's how Papa feels sometimes. Here we are trying so hard to act like we know how to act, when in reality we don't often have a clue. Then He gently, patiently explains and shows us how we should/could/ought to do things and we feel so proud of ourselves because we figured it out 'all by ourselves!" I wonder if He often has a grin hidden behind pinched lips or a twinkle in His eye when we get so excited about the obvious. Does He also get a warm fuzzy feeling in His heart when we finally remember to thank Him for helping us out and for encouraging us to continue trying? I wonder.

One of the organizers of the whole affair told Dodi and I later that we'd been really good with those boys. (At one point we had 10 of the little wormy creatures all crowded around our chairs! All asking either Dodi to fix their bobbers or me to help them put the worms on the hooks. My least favorite thing to do of course. But I did it...while showing them how to do themselves!!!!! I certainly don't want to be known as the County Worm Lady!!!!!!LOL!) We were a little startled by the organizers comment. We'd only treated them all like they were our kids....isn't that what we're supposed to do? " Love one another, as I have loved you"  Wasn't that hard to do.....even if I did have to hook 6 cans of worms.....yuck! Something to contemplate as you go into the weekend.....how many ways DO you show you love Him? Do you love others as He's loved you? Do you love Him enough to follow His commandments? Think about it. I look forward to seeing what you think. Shabbat Shalom to all my Torah observant friends....and have a great weekend to those who aren't.