Shakespeare in the Parks

To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. ~ Henry David Thoreau

“I’m going to take the time to do that one of these days.”

One of these days . . . is such a presumptuous phrase. I assume I’ll be given all the days I want to do those things that I want to get around to. This week an opportunity knocked to do one of those things that I've been going to do for a long time.

Every summer Montana State University goes on the road to present Shakespeare in the Parks. Each performance is offered at no charge to the public. It was a fantastic experience. The first evening I sat with my sons in a local park which was transformed into a wonderful outdoor theater. We watched and listened as the cast brought Shakespeare’s “Alls Well That Ends Well” to life.

In the distance you could here children playing in the park. Birds fluttered and twittered about in the nearby tree branches. Clouds rolled in and out creating an ever changing backdrop for the stage.

The second evening my husband joined us for “Macbeth” in a nearby town. It started out equally as wonderful. However, we soon discovered that outdoor theater is not without its drawbacks. The play included some stormy scenes and thunderous sound effects. About half way through the performance there was no more need for sound effects. Nature provided all the stormy elements. The play was called due to lightening followed moments later by a torrential downpour. Maybe you’ve heard of the curse of Macbeth.

Anyway, I was so blessed to be a part of Shakespeare In The Parks. The performances were wonderful and I soaked up the culture of the arts like a sponge. Perhaps best of all is that I was in such good company. Being joined by my teenage sons and later by my husband (. . . and of their own free will) was awesome. On the way home we talked about the plot and the characters and how some of the characters reminded us of people we know. Of course I thought to myself,“What took me so long?"

Talking isn't doing.
It is a kind of good deed to say well;
and yet words are not deeds.
William Shakespeare

Roots

Job 14: 7-9

7 "At least there is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots will not fail.

8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump die in the soil,

9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.

~Robert Louis Stevenson






Jeremiah 17: 7-8

7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

I know the physical, emotional, and spiritual vibrations of being uprooted.

Thankfully I also know the assurance of being rooted in God’s love. A heart (or a tree) can survive the most difficult storms if God’s hand is gripping the roots.

When it rains, it pours

When it rains, it pours! The last couple of weeks I have been smack dab in the middle of a downpour of blessings.

I have been told that the two weeks of rain earlier this year brought portions of Wyoming more precipitation than we normally get in an entire year. It’s been wonderful. The desert is a lovely shade of green, forest fires are at bay, and the crops look promising. The small lakes have water and the rivers and streams are flowing.

It’s a great head start on the season. Though nature has made provisions to make it last through mountain run-off, much of the early moisture will be long gone by the end of summer. It is evaporated, absorbed, and used. The head start, however, provides strength for the growing season and relieves effects of arid weather making future precipitation more beneficial.

I belong to a very small church in an area of Wyoming where Christianity is not necessarily in the majority. For the third year in a row we have been the destination of an amazing team of missionaries from Arizona. We now fondly refer to their time here as Arizona Week. This year Arizona Week was actually two weeks of sweat, friendship, and awesome accomplishment. We had the opportunity to work along side these folks as they rewired electricity, plumbed, cleaned, prayed, laughed, built, painted, and coached.

One of their primary goals was to help us hold a sports camp for children. Along with the teaching of soccer and basketball skills the “coaches” taught biblical truths to our young sports enthusiasts. It was a great (and exhausting) experience powered by God.

The “Arizona Team” is an awesome example of selfless love and servitude. Their time here affects my spirit much the same way that the uncharacteristic rains this year affected the Wyoming desert. Working along side of them gives me strength and encouragement for the journey and relieves the effects of spiritual dryness. I see in them the potential each of us has in being children of God.

Like a Thanksgiving feast, I take in as much as I can. The nourishment is needed for growth and I thank God for them. Also like Thanksgiving dinner and the ample rain showers I really can’t get enough to last all year. Now that I have once again been given a burst of blessings I need to continue onward and upward toward the goal. I want to be prepared to absorb the moisture when and where it is offered and to pass it on at every opportunity.

Staying in Shape

We began each day of sports camp with stretching and warm-up exercises. Sounds easy enough. I am quite active in my daily routine at work and in the garden. I live a relatively healthy lifestyle. However, it was here, at the very beginning that I realized how out of shape I had become. At first, I thought I was keeping up pretty nicely. I could meet all of the necessary requirements for warming-up. . . I thought. It was then that I discovered that I had aced the introductions to the exercises. I was not really prepared for the, “O.K., now let’s do ten of those” portion of the program.

I can’t help but make the comparison to my Christian walk. It doesn’t usually seem too tough. I am able to do all of the “necessary” things. Then I wondered. Am I prepared for what God has planned for me? Am I ready for the real application where the rubber hits the pavement? Or am I terribly out of shape despite my daily activities?