A Dog Day of Summer

We lounged lazily on the back porch of the lake house our friends had rented.  The brief get-away from home was a welcome change of pace.

During the conversation I noticed movement on a property further down the lake front.  A body raced from the off shore back yard, continued across the narrow plank of the pier and sailed a short trajectory over the water before making a splash landing.  Seconds later, a head popped to the surface of the water and bobbed slowly back to shore where the whole performance was repeated, as we all watched with delight.  From our far off spectatoring, we surmised our entertainer to be a Golden Retriever.  There didn’t appear to be anyone cheering the dog on or even another audience besides us.  It was simply a hot dog day of summer and a good way to cool off.

There was One other watching; taking pleasure in the scene.  The same One who sees every sparrow that falls and pronounces his creation "good".  Ps. 104:24-26 Msg says,

"What a wildly wonderful world, God!
      You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
      made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
   Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,
      brimming with fish past counting,
      sardines and sharks and salmon.
   Ships plow those waters,
      and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them."

And Zephaniah 3:17
"The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

We serve him, sacrifice for him and labor together with him. In these vacationing months of summer, let's recreate and play for him, too. He's watching with pleasure the way you enjoy his creation, the way you laugh in happiness and maybe, he's even romping with you.

"Here comes that dog again! Watch!"

"Ready, set, jump!"

"Let's give him a 10 on that one," my husband says with a grin.