Sunday School adventures

Kameron, Javona and I had an adventurous experience yesterday (Saturday) when they came over and we walked to Encanto Park. We rode the train and each of the girls rode two of the rides and Kameron went on the merry go round. Then we rented a paddle boat for a whole hour to go out on the lake and also paddle through the canal.

We paddled out behind an island that had a waterfall and ….our rudder stopped working …so we only went around and around and around in circles behind that island. We couldn’t go anywhere. We finally got the boat over a ways to a remote place at the far side of the lake and “abandoned ship” and walked to a place where I could call across the lake that we needed assistance.

Javona, in particular, had wanted very much to go through the canal and didn’t think she was having much fun, but I told the girls that this is an opportunity to see how God will take care of us, and besides if our boat ride was just peaceful and uneventful we might all forget about it the next day. Now we would learn something important and always remember our boat ride experience and remember also to be grateful even if things weren’t going just as we would like.

Crew from the boathouse paddled out and fixed the rudder. We had been out on the lake for over an hour but asked if we could still go through the canal. They said “oh yes!”, so we had fun paddling through the canal and under the bridges. We learned that we must always remain alert because as we came out from under the last canal bridge before we were back at the lake, a fishline with part of a hotdog weiner was cast over the bridge right in front of our faces. Smile. We managed not to get “caught” and the “fisherman” boy on the bridge was very apologetic and said “I’m sorry”. Then, when I went to pay for our “outing” the boat people said “no charge”. I appreciated that.

So this is why part of the girls’ assignment mailed this week includes the definition of rudder (one definition is “something serving to guide, direct, or control”) and they are to list some of the useful “rudders” they have been learning (maybe their list will include the 10 Commandments and the Beatitudes) to keep their lives going forward in the right direction.

We had a picnic (before the boat ride) of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then, after our adventure at Encanto Park, the girls walked backwards the 14 blocks to Regency House (except for when we crossed busy streets, when they were asked to please turn around and “look” where they were going. (Are you laughing yet?).

This whole precious family is responding to divine Love’s love of them.