Tuesday was a very special day for me. Our daughter-in-law, Debbie, came over to help my wife, Pat, with some bookkeeping stuff. One of our two grandsons was home sick and his brother was there to keep him company. This left granddaughter, Rachael (nearly eleven), and me to find something to do. We did!

From the git go, I gave Rachael complete freedom to choose where we should go. We piled into Tonka, headed for a favorite 7-Eleven to get something to drink, and hit the road. Rachael selected as our destination, Myakka River State Park. It is the largest state park in Florida and has lots of wildlife.

Due to the enormous spring rains over the past few months, most of the non- paved areas still had standing water everywhere. This is excellent for viewing wildlife. The wild pigs, armadillos, raccoons, deer, possums and turkeys are forced to look for vegetation right along the edges of the main road that goes through the park.

As we drove very slowly through Myakka, Rachael’s keen eyes kept spotting all kinds of interesting things. We saw a large group of coal black wild pigs rooting around among the trees and ground cover. We stopped and Rachael began taking some pictures. She spotted a beautiful white egret fishing for lunch in the casual water. Several little minnows made the long, winding journey down the egret’s magnificent neck.

There were lots of alligators floating on the lake. As we slowly made our way through the park we came up behind a jogger. He suddenly jumped several feet to the right. When we caught up with him, we saw the reason for his agile athletic move. There was a four foot gator stretched out with his nose right at the edge of the asphalt! Rachael took a picture of him, too.

The Bird Walk approach was under too much water, but that didn’t stop us from having fun. Rachael called to my attention the throaty sound of several bull frogs communicating with each other, unaware that we were listening to their conversation. Squirrels were looking for lunch.

One of the neatest side trips involved a Florida Power & Light right-of-way road. No cars or vehicles are allowed, but we were able to unload my electric Hoveround cart and head down the sandy road. Rachael fascinated me at nearly every step. She recognized and pointed out every single animal footprint she saw. We closely investigated the imprints left by bobcats, deer, coons, wild pigs, turkeys and other birds, even the groove worn by a snake crossing the sandy trail. Both of us enjoyed finding the tracks of several sub-species of the famous Nike genus! We found the remains of a turtle’s nesting site. There were several rubbery, ping pong ball size remnants of the actual eggs from which tiny little turtles had recently hatched.

As we continued down the back road, we spotted maybe fifty or sixty turkey vultures gathered in a particular area. When we got there, the vultures moved a few feet away. We looked for some kind of carcass, but couldn’t tell on what they were feeding. While there, I looked off to the left and there was an incredible red shouldered hawk sitting high in a tree. He was undoubtedly looking for his next meal.

Rachael picked up quite a handful of beautiful feathers to take home for brother Ben’s feather collection. We talked. We laughed. We swapped stories about past adventures. We dreamed of future times together. Mostly, we just thoroughly enjoyed being together and exploring the great natural wonders of our Father’s world.

Rachael is fortunate to be part of a family that loves the outdoors and spends lots of family time exploring our natural world in this part of Florida. Rachael’s dad, our son, Tim, grew up camping and exploring the woods and lakes wherever we traveled.

Now, you might rightfully ask, “PapaJ, why are you using your space this week to tell this story? Where are the spiritual truths? How does God fit into this scenario?” Well, let me splain it to you.

I’m of the opinion that most adults who do take time to take their children on outings, are prone to some common mistakes. Usually, the adult(s) plan the entire adventure. Often, parents equate fun family time with a visit to a large theme park. While a visit to a park can be a great outing, consideration needs to be given to simple activities that children and adults enjoy and that don’t cost a fortune. In family counseling, I find that adults seldom plan family activities around what their kids might truly enjoy or by which they might be challenged.

Nature has a lovely way of accomplishing so much in the lives of children. We didn’t spend a fortune. I have a yearly pass to the park. Rachael cost me one dollar extra. Sure, there were some cold drinks, and a Butterfinger for Rachael (I’m not allowed). We got some exercise and fresh air, but mostly we spent some really quality time together enjoying each other’s company and observing the fascinating features found in the great outdoors.

Best of all, Rachael made the decision about where we were going to go. I didn’t try to top every story she told or try to improve on every observation she made. I didn’t try to come up with some story from my past that would make her most excellent efforts to share the world through her eyes seem tiny and unimportant. I respected her interests, her comments, her views. I gained a lot from allowing occasional silence while waiting for her next input. Was I disappointed in any way? Absolutely not.

The Bible mentions the importance of children. We’re told to encourage children, and to learn from their unspoiled faith in God and His world. We’re even warned about the danger of causing harm to a child.

WHAT IMPORTANT LESSONS
WERE REINFORCED ON TUESDAY?

• Don’t make every activity that involves your children YOUR activity.
• Don’t feel like YOU have to be in total control of the planning and execution of family activities.
• Don’t ignore or run blindly over children’s ideas, suggestions, thoughts, observations, etc.

I had a wonderful time. I spent several hours with a lovely young lady who was not intimidated by her grandfather. A young lady who felt completely free to express her ideas, give her opinions, make her observations without fear that some “in control” adult was bent on doing everything his way, yet calling it a child’s outing. I guess I’m still a true child at heart. I was just as fascinated and excited by all the things we saw and did as if I were the nearly eleven year old.

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