“take time to smell the roses”




In the journey of life, it is nice to take time to “smell the roses”. Early last week we went over to Jim’s dad’s (papa’s) house for a visit. Papa has his house and backyard set up for all his grandkids, for sure. He has an air hockey game and a foos ball table down in the basement. The backyard has a great swing set and a slide. My daughter has loved slides for some time now. She has an amazing sense of adventure and risk taking. Hmmm, wonder where she got that? Papa’s yard also has a nice rope/ball swing from a tree limb. So we played and relaxed outside for a while. Of course, as part of the fun, I rose to the challenge and climbed up into the branches of a huge pine tree. Yes, at 43, I’m still a kid! A short while later I noticed two nicely cared for rose bushes over against the fence. I take my camera pretty much everywhere (especially since we had our daughter, Abbagael). I’ve been called the paparazzi (hee hee). I really love roses, so I walked over to the rose bushes with it. They are such small delicate bushes. On one of the bushes was the most beautiful and unique single rose. Papa came over and stood as I marveled at it. “It is the last rose of the summer”, I said. He agreed. It was beautiful and intricate. I started snapping away. I so wanted to capture the incredible beauty. I took a few pictures and have posted a couple of them. Jim took a few shots, as well. After that I went and put my camera down. I walked back to the rose bush where they were all standing. I felt myself transition out of ‘snapshot’ mode and I began to soak in the intimate time we were having right there as a family. Jim, Papa, Abbagael and I lingered around the rose bush admiring the breathtaking beauty of that single rose. We talked about how Grandma (Jim’s mom) would have enjoyed it if she were here. She has been in heaven for two years. And I learned that Jim’s dad has always had a love for tending to rose bushes. He is a towering man of 6’5” and a commanding personality. But, he is also very tender and a big teddy bear. I truly observed and took in the moment as Abbagael enjoyed it through touch, sight, and smell. And I looked at the love in Jim’s eyes as he enjoyed the entire time there. I’m so happy that I really ‘saw’ and ‘smelled’ and ‘touched’ that beautiful rose. I am even more glad, though, that we were made more real together. We truly cared for and loved one another. Kindness shined through. It wasn’t an activity or an event. It was an incredible moment captured in time. God's Presence was there with us in a pure and simple way. I’m grateful that I didn’t miss it. I'm glad Abbagael experienced it. And all by taking time to “smell the roses”. It’s not just a saying anymore.