One Beautiful Life

Carnival Chronicles

We went to the lake for Labor Day and on the way into town we passed a roadside carnival. Don and I saw it at the same time and my heart leaped. The idea of Abby's excitement to go just filled me with my own childish glee! We looked at each other and smiled with huge grins as the same thought entered our minds at the same time. We waited.... and waited.... then passed it and looked back to see that Abby was deep into her Leap Frog and had not even looked up and seen it.

So the spelling began! We should t-a-k-e- her as a s-u-r-p-r-i-s-e! When...? Tomorrow night after we have d-i-n-n-e-r. You don't want to t-e-l-l ... h-e-r? No, let's make it a s-u-r-p-r-i-s-e! OK!!!!!

The next day was wonderful. I spent the entire morning on the sofa and read an entire book in three hours ("Flies on the Butter"), Don stained our screen porch, and Abby happily played... until I got to my last ten pages which I had to read locked in the bathroom!

We packed up lunch and spent the rest of the day on the lake and the weather was PERFECT! Then we went to our favorite restaurant for their amazing Saturday night buffet of down home cooking (cooked cabbage, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, FRIED OKRA, collard greens, rolls, banana pudding, peach cobbler.... YUMMMM!).

Sadly, it was Choo Choo B-B-Q's last night of business which made our dinner bitter sweet but we know God has some wonderful plans in store for them! THANK YOU CHOO CHOO for many great meals!!!!!

We had told Abby earlier that day that we had a surprise in store for her after dinner. She was so cute asking if it was dessert or a toy! We kept telling her that it was much... much better than cake or a toy. She really couldn't get her mind around that! As we pulled up and it came into view... she started smiling and squealing. She had never been to a carnival before and the lights and sounds of laughter and screams alone was enough to delight her!

Look at her smile in this picture. She kept that smile the entire time we were there. It was precious and these sweet moments as a parent are truly some of the best. The happiness that fills you to see your child feel so much joy is one of the purest and sweetest gifts from God! I almost cried on several occasions just to see her smile so much.

The first ride was the "Jalopy Junction" and it was a car that simply went around in a circle on a track and she smiled and beamed the entire three minutes. She turned the steering wheel back and forth and just giggled from her toes.

As Don and I stood there, also smiling from ear to ear, we praised God for her health and the fact that she was able to enjoy such a sweet childhood moment that so many could take for granted. And I praise HIM again for the year of health HE has so graciously given to her and us.

If you haven't been to a carnival in a while... you are missing out on a very distinctive smell and atmosphere! The carnies all look like they are relatives and there is this weird smell that hits you at just the right moment! But in spite of this frequent whiff of funky air... it is a necessary experience of childhood.

Half way through our time there I realized that part of my emotions were rising up from my own childhood. These same kind of carnivals often came to my little town as a child and we never went. We would drive by the majestically turning Ferris wheel and bright flashing lights numerous times during the week and I would look out of the car window each time and imagine the children inside and all the fun they were having. My friends would make plans to meet there and I would be the one left out. Tears... yes, boo-hoo for me! :0)

But as Don and I took turns riding rides with her, watched her ride alone, enjoyed a hot, greasy, covered with sugar funnel cake, and even took in that funky smell... I realized God was giving me a bonus gift. He was giving me the precious gift of healing. The little girl inside of me that felt so left out was at her own carnival and having fun with her precious daughter and her amazingly precious husband. She was watching her daughter hold her husband's hand and was watching her be blessed... and yes, the tears surfaced again.

How precious... how very precious is our Almighty and Powerful God of the universe to bless me and my daughter... and my husband with such a precious unexpected moment in our lives. We will all cherish it forever. And every time I see a carnival on the side of the road, I will be filled with the picture of my precious angel and gift from God riding by on her dragon roller coaster and throwing her hands up into the air with pure and innocent joy... and the healing that often can come to us through moments with a child.