Just a Day at the Water Park

Recently, as Caleb was preparing to go to church camp Carson began to feel a little slighted.  I mean, here his brother got to go on a mission trip and camp- all in one summer -while he stayed home with Mom and Dad.  So, I made an effort to do something fun with him when Caleb went on each of his adventures.  Our big "thing" while Caleb went to camp was going to a new water park in our area called Pirate's Cove.  Carson was so excited that he did a mental countdown for days beforehand.  He would just randomly squeal with delight as he thought about it... seeing him so excited made me excited for him too.

So, yesterday morning was the day and his joy was so full with the anticipation of all that was coming.  We had a big breakfast, put on swimsuits, grabbed our sunscreen and loaded the car.  We arrived early- I couldn't convince him to wait any longer- and purchased our tickets.  We walked around the facility and enjoyed the cool air conditioning before going out in the heat.  But, when we walked back to await entry... Carson caught his breath and began to jump up and down with his excitement in overload.... the fun was just moments and steps away!  Finally, when the water started, Kendall even squealed and clapped.  We found a shaded table and I began to coat them with sunscreen which was quite a task when they just wanted to run and go play.  (I did the best job I could on putting sunscreen on myself while trying to hold a toddler at bay- I am painfully aware of all the spots I missed today!)

Carson went down every water slide and swam in the pool.  He tackled the floating boxes and could have earned a gold medal for his cannon ball jumps.  He faithfully checked in with me often as I stayed with Kendall and he never stopped moving.  I managed to feed every one and let us cool off for an hour while doing more sunscreen and restroom breaks, but then we were at it again.  We were there 5 1/2 hours and Carson was still saddened- nay, heartbroken, to leave when we did.  It was a day of just being able to do all the things you love and wishing it could go on forever.   He told me that he would like to have his birthday party at the water park- that will be quite a challenge since his birthday is in late fall!

I have thought a lot about our day yesterday.... you know, I hope I can be that excited for heaven.  I love my life, and all my blessings but I also want to carry a building excitement for what is still yet to come.  Sunscreen is important or you will get burned!  Spiritual sunscreen is important too...  studying the scriptures, prayer and scripture memorization are all important barriers to sin that will leave us burned.  I think part of what made Carson's day so special was that he got to be the focus of much of my attention as well as getting to pick what we did that day.  I think we all want to feel special and treated like the center of attention some times.... with God, He is always watching over us and designing events to grow us more in His likeness.  We the focus of God's heart and all that He does is for our benefit- even our trials are perfectly designed just for our individual needs.  I loved watching the joy my boys had yesterday and I think God just savors the moments that He blesses us beyond belief... when we just squeal with delight over something He did for us.

I love that God can turn a day of fun at the water park into a lesson for me.  I love my Savior!  Now, where is my sunburn cream?