When an Amusement Park and Garden Meet

 

We had a beautiful welcome to Spring Break this weekend.  It was one of those weekends you just had to find something to do outside because it was a pity not to enjoy the weather.

We kicked off Spring Break with a trip to Carowinds, our local amusement park.  I bought the family passes as an early Easter presents.  It’s one of my favorite places—barring the crowds, wait times and exorbitant food prices. 

I was so excited to go and truthfully, it was a bust.  Scott is not a fan to begin with and only goes to pacify me.  The kids hadn’t been in two years and I guess lost their zeal of roller coasters.  After only riding 2 very mild rides, we ate some fries, rode the needle—which I cannot make myself call a ride–and called it a day.  I passed all the loop-de-loop roller coasters lovingly and promised I’d visit another day—maybe with someone else’s family. 

Parenting is so tricky, y’all.  Sometimes you have to push your kids into doing some activities because they don’t realize it’s going to be fun and they end up having the time of their lives. And then sometimes you push and it’s just as miserable as they thought it would be.  They saw my disappointment on the way home and promised they’d go again and try the Meteorite with me.  At least you go upside down on that one.

One moment I don’t want to forget is being on one ride with Lexi and her belly laughing and exclaiming in surprise, “I’m laughing for no reason!!” That’s what I had hoped for over and over again Friday, but I’m thankful for at least one very joyful moment.

 

I also planted our garden on Saturday after I used http://www.anjtreeservice.com/, the tree removal services to clean out the garden a little bit.  I love the entire process—buying the plants at our local Farmer’s market, tilling the ground, planting, mulching, watering.  I’m hoping for a better year than last.

God never fails to speak to me as I work out there and Saturday was no exception.  As I was tilling the soil, I thought of a young man we ran into at Carowinds the night before.

We walked up the ramp to this roller coaster where it dumps you into a room of about 15 smaller lines for each seat on the ride. There were plenty of spots in the smaller lines but for some reason these ladies were standing at the top of the ramp like there was nowhere to go.  I couldn’t understand why they were waiting there, but clearly, we had several minutes to wait anyway, so I didn’t push it. 

A young family came up behind us.  The young man was making a ruckus as soon as he got behind us.  I looked to find him—baggy clothes, black teeth, a baseball cap tipped sideways, more tattoos than skin—nearly pushing through Scott.  I told him I was sorry but we were waiting for the ladies and I wasn’t sure why they weren’t moving.

He said he didn’t care and he was going so he just went around us and them and went to a smaller line.  He still had 3 or 4 more turns to wait so he didn’t really gain anything but about 15 feet.  The ladies soon realized what was going on and moved into a line so we did too.

I was thinking about this young man as I tilled our garden beds.  When you first start, the soil is hard.  The roots have no room to grow.  So I added peat moss and richer soil and turned it.  God reminded me this young man’s heart was like the hard soil.  It was hard and full of himself.  There was no air, so space, no room for others. 

As I mixed in the peat moss, the soil became airy and soft.  God reminded me that Jesus is what makes the difference for us.  He helps break up the “me” we have and makes room for love of others.  Our spiritual roots can grow deep when the soil is prepared well.

 

I prayed for me and my family that we would have soft and open hearts for others.  I prayed for that young man that he would have the same.  I really don’t know much about him besides those few minutes, but I know enough about all of us to know we could all use some tilling.

 

And before I go, I must show you this picture of Bella.  She has been ruining my beds all winter, jumping in and digging in them.  She tried to do the same as I was working in them Saturday but I scolded her, making sure she knew she was not allowed in.  She got the hint and went over and sulked underneath the swingset and watched me worked.  A few minutes later, I looked up to see she had snuck around the side of the beds and was watching me like this:

“Mom, are you sure I can’t play in the beds?” Y’all, it was the best moment of the whole weekend.

Hoping you had a wonderful weekend too and have a great week!