The little bits of latex balloons were the remnants of a weekend of fun and laughter shared not only with our grandchildren, Jackson and Emma, but also with our daughters and our youngest daughter's boyfriend, Sheldon.
Image by adwriter via FlickrWe had made a trip to the store prior to Jack and Emma arriving and purchased a "slip and slide". I remember my Uncle Poppy making one of these for us to play with when I was a child and it was great fun. I had hoped our grandchildren would have the same impression. Their aunts filled I can't tell how many water balloons and both afternoons of the weekend were filled with sliding, slipping, tossing balloons and basically getting completely soaked. At least one afternoon included the obligatory water-hose battle. It was all fun -- not only for the three and four-year-old -- but for the adults as well.
As I looked in the yard at the remnants of the water balloons, I was immediately taken back to the time we had spent together playing in the water.
Our lives should each be that way. There should be remnants that we "have been there." There should be reminders that we have walked through life, that we touched others. Along the way should be remnants of comfort we have given, encouragement we have shared, love we have bestowed. Others should be able to think back to those moments shared between us and be thankful for the time spent together.
Our investment in the lives of others doesn't have to be expensive. Like our water balloons and "slip and slide", sometimes the most meaningful things are relatively inexpensive, fairly simple. They just mean we must make the effort, take the thought about someone else. Let us be resolved to leave a trail of little bits of green and blue latex everywhere we have walked, a trail of the Love of Christ we have so generously shared with others.
"No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." I John 4:12
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