July 4th Reflections
It’s Sunday at the lake.
It’s also July the 4th.
Donned in our red, white, and blue, we head off to worship at the Evangelical Free Church of Bemidji. It’s “name tag Sunday”, so we all pick up a sharpie and write our first names on a sticker. Our group fills up four small rows in the church this year. My sister Beth and her family of six. My cousin Deb and her family (this year they have four). My cousin Paul and his family of five, plus his in-laws, Tom and Barb.
And our family. This year we are all here except for Jared (sadly, he’s too busy with his new house in Denver), including Ollie, our latest addition. So with our seven, we bring in a total of 24 people to the EV Free Church. It’s been two years since we were here as last year we only dared to watch the live stream.
After church, the temperature was hovering around 90 degrees, but I had my potato casserole already put together for the picnic and wanted to get my steps in. I popped my AirPods in, hit play on my audiobook (The Dutch House by Ann Patchett), and set out for a very hot, two-mile walk. I was never so thankful to arrive back at my air-conditioned cabin!
An interesting sight on my walk.
The family picnic with its usual spiced pork chops, parsley bread, salad, watermelon, easy-cheesy potato casserole, baked beans, and roasted veggies, was a feast of deliciousness. As if all that wasn’t enough, Beth brought dessert–warm Ghirardelli brownies with ice cream. A. Ma. Zing.
The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting with cousins, swimming and swinging with Ollie (and following him around as he explored things like grass, sand, and tree trunks). The older kids headed to our cool cabin where they played a variety of games.
On this, the 245th birthday of our country, we give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy. Freedoms which men and women have died for. Freedom to travel, worship, and have family picnics.
As the day ends, each spark of light in the sky, reflected in the lake below, reminds us we have many reasons to celebrate.
