A Merry Heart Works Like Medicine

Proverbs 17:22a: A merry heart works like a good medicine.

After a hard long winter, we have been getting a few nice warm weekends. My neighbors invited me to join them on a nature hike at Woodcock dam after church las t Sunday. We had a very enjoyable time. We all took turns swinging from a huge grape vine. I took my turn, but I realized that I am now past my peak. I survived the ride, but I didn't go for the full swing, because I could hear the tree start to make cracking noices, and decided it would be a little embarrasing to be pulled out of the valley below by the rescue squad. The others were much better at it, and we had a lot of laughs as they each took their turn. We walked on two trails. As we reached the stream below, we looked for fossils, and we found a couple rocks that had good fossils on them, but left them behind. We also found a crayfish and some grubs. We were able to walk under the road through a tunnel that dumped the stream into the lake. There were a lot of families and pets also along the trail. After walking, we went down to the playground and picnic area and watched as the three young children played. There was another boy about three years old who kept going down the tallest slide. It was such a joyful time to hear him laugh so hard he was having trouble getting back up. We also saw the first butterflies and buzzing bees of the season.

After I got home, there were many families walking down my alley, and kids on skateboards, and rollerblades and doing trick riding on their bikes. I went to work the back way, and saw a father pitching a baseball to his two sons. Early spring is a wonderful time of the year. It is great to see people involved in all this activity. I enjoy watching God's creation slowly coming back to life. I am excited to see what is yet to come. Yes, a joyful, thankful heart does work like a good medicine.

P.S. If anyone enjoys going on hikes, and you have room in your vehicle, invite others to join you, and share the experience with them. It will be a blessing to all of you.