Dinner at the River

“Where we are, not where we’d want to be, is where we must begin.” –Brother David Steindl-Rast

“The best preparation for a life of prayer is to become more intensely human.” –Kenneth Leech

“It takes so little to make a child happy, that it is a pity in a world full of sunshine and pleasant things that there should be any wistful faces, empty hands, or lonely little hearts.” –Louisa May Alcott, Little Men

“If all life is holy, then anything that sustains life has holy dimensions, too.” -Barbara Brown Taylor

If you take the canopied footpath of rocks a little ways, you’ll turn to see a little lookout point, where the Chattahoochee River opens wide, and the rippling current carries you, all at once, away and right back to yourself.

A few weeks ago, we gathered our things for a picnic, but this time, it was to celebrate summer and river water and how easy it is to take home outside of our front door.

I stashed away tea light candles and pretty plates. I brought a book on home decor and a novel, napkins and my favorite table cloth. This time, I wanted to remember this place, to create a holy moment for our family.

While the boys threw rocks into the water, they gnawed on apples and cucumbers. We watched squirrels climb trees and birds trace the water’s face with their talons.

We ate and walked back on the same path that brought us to our dinner spot. We walked back thankful for this space, for this season, for our family, for the ever-faithful presence of God, even here and even now.

It was simple, and it was everything we needed, all-deserving of a whispered Hallelujah.