This past October, my friend Elizabeth and I took our boys and our dogs into the woods for a few serene hours of hiking in nature. The leaves were changing into their vibrant colors of orange, red, and yellow, so the forest trails were beckoning us to go on a hike. And so we did.
It was Liam's first and Macy's last.
It's funny how in life we sometimes miss the opportunity to truly savor something because we fail to notice that it's the last of something. We take so much for granted and assume that there's so much more coming our way that we often miss out on relishing the present.
Had I known this was my last hike with Macy, I would have surely wanted it to be just the two of us, like we enjoyed in that forest two years before, a girl and her dog and the peace of a quiet walk through crunchy leaves.
But, I thank God for Elizabeth, because this idea was her suggestion; and, had she not offered it, I'm sure we wouldn't have gone.
Her son Hamilton and her Labrador Pepper were the perfect easy-going companions for Macy, Liam, and me. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and swore we'd do this again, but then we didn't; and I regret that I lost track of time.
Thank you, Jesus, for the opportunities You give us: the first, the last, and all the ones in between.
