Fridays at the Fountain

I have discovered a beautiful, quiet place in the middle of the busyness of Springfield.  If you aren’t careful you will miss it; I almost did.  It’s not even tucked away in some quaint corner of a beautiful park.  It’s right smack dab in front of a medical building on the west side.  Over the last few weeks I have found myself eagerly looking forward to my Fridays at the fountain.  It is there I can be still.  Perfectly still in body, mind, and spirit.  It has such a calming effect on my soul.  The running water drowns out the sounds of the traffic, the city, my heart, and even the internal voices in my mind.


My Fountain Place

After settling in our new home, we spent some time researching Occupational Therapy options for Madeline and finally decided upon the one we felt would meet her needs the best.  We started with a new therapist in July.  Unlike Ginger’s privately owned and operated clinic in Evansville, our new therapist was a part of a larger group in a hospital affiliated clinic.    It’s not exactly close to where we live, but as you parents know you do what you have to do to meet the needs of your children.  The fountain area is sandwiched between two entrances to the building.  While it is one of the first things you notice about this building, the fountain is soon forgotten with the busyness of finding the right suite inside, filling out paper work, being on time, or rushing to the next destination. 

 

One day I decided I would walk out to the fountain while waiting for Madeline to finish up her appointment.  I sat on one of the benches.  I observed so many others rushing in and out of the building.  I checked my e-mail.  I checked Facebook.  I sent a few texts since I wasn’t going to be interrupted.  Then I put my phone away.  I noticed a “No Wading in Pool” sign.  I had not even considered wading in the fountain until I read that sign.  Once I read it however, it planted a seed in my mind that began to sprout uncontrollably.  I had this unquenchable urge to take off my sandals and go wading, running, and splashing!  Because in situations like these I always seem to be the one to get caught and into trouble, I had self-control.  Although I may have been sitting on the outside,  I was wading, running, and splashing on the inside!  I was having a lovely time too I might add!  



Silly Sign!

Then I closed my eyes and listened to the moving water.   I felt my body relax.  I was able to sift through thoughts in my mind and “organize” them.  I was able to actually “hear myself think”.  Then I even found those thoughts quieted down.  In the stillness I felt God’s presence.  I began praying and pouring my heart out to God.  I began communicating with my best friend in a way I can’t in the busyness of my life at home.  Back home the distracting dishes in the sink, the piles of sorted dirty laundry in the foyer, the pile of clothes needing ironing, the hungry children waking up, the other fed children asking multiple questions, the school schedule calling me down to my desk, etc… all battle for my attention and fill my mind with multiple “to do” items screaming to be checked off the list!  In the silence of the moment, I was able to think, empty my mind, and something so wonderful happened.  My heart began to sing a song of praise and I was able to worship my Savior in the quietness of that fountain.  It was an unexpected treasure. 

 

I hope you have a “fountain” place, a place to get away from everything and just be still.  In today’s fast paced rat race, we all need a fountain.  If you don’t have a special place, keep your eyes open.  It might be right in front of you the whole time like mine was.  Scripture states in more than one place that Jesus went alone to pray and be still before God.  My special place used to be our patio in Newburgh.  From the table under the gazebo I would be able to watch the deer on the back tree line, listen to the insects and birds, relax, read my Bible, pray, and worship.  I have tried hiding out in our bedroom at the new house, but it's not working very well.  I have missed having a quiet place.    



My special place in Newburgh.  Beautiful early morning or evening.

Fridays at the fountain are special.  I find myself eagerly looking forward to them.  I don’t even bother taking my phone out of my purse while I’m there anymore.  I just sit down on “my bench”, still myself, and enjoy the moments.  I still struggle with that silly “No Wading In Pool” sign.  I also struggle with letting Brad help me out on Fridays.  Brad has offered to take Madeline to O.T. a few times, but I don’t want to let him.  That would mean missing my Friday at the fountain.  I am getting a little possessive of it.  I love my quiet place.  It’s a highlight of my week.  My only complaint…..now I have to wait “seven more sleeps”! 

 

Back to School

The start of school brings back memories of a new box of crayons, cool pencil erasers, new notebooks, and new school clothes.  As I grew older the excitement came not from those things, but instead from the understanding I was one year closer to graduation.  Now as I have the privilege to teach my children, I LOVE going to the teacher store in preparation for the new school year!  Brad is very thankful I’ve not found one of those here….yet!   


Ahh....how I miss The Teacher's Aid Store!  You can't just get ONE item!

I hope your back to school experiences were terrific!  I saw lots of smiling and excited faces on Facebook!  August 5 we began our new school year with a sophomore, 7^th grader, 2^nd grader, and one in Pre-K!  I am ashamed to say not one “First Day of School” picture was taken.  We just started.  One of the benefits of moving is reorganizing things.  I did find a box full of school supplies purchased who knows when but was not with the other school items.  Yeah for me!  Another wonderful surprise was no one needed any new clothes.  Purchasing school materials was also pleasant.  Maddie is using texts Neil once used so only workbooks needed purchased.  Sarah is using materials Maddie once used so again, only a few workbooks.  I had lots of PreK stuff from when I was a preschool teacher so Sam was pretty set as well.  We were also blessed with a treasure of books, an incredible microscope, and other lab materials from a local family no longer home schooling as their children are graduated! 

Anymore it seems the back to school hoopla starts before the 4th of July!  I mean, school hasn't been out THAT long! No one wants to think about going back then because it’s summer break for goodness sake!  Yet there it is all over the place.  The shelves in Wal-Mart start becoming stocked with supplies, ads in the paper full of clothing sales, colorful backpacks and lunch boxes of all shapes and sizes are strategically placed in our paths.  It just irritates me.  However, there are some awesome back to school events that take place over the summer that absolutely inspire me.  Events where people come together for a common purpose and make a difference in the lives of others.

Back in Newburgh, Indiana First Christian hosted their second annual Threads and Treads for the community a few weeks before school began in Warrick County.  Families were invited to come to FCCN from 10 – 2 and  were able to “shop” for gently used clothing – no limit on how many items they could take, get a haircut, pick up a new Bible, pick up a bag of school supplies, and have some lunch if they so desired.  I loved seeing the updates on Facebook about the collection of donations, the set up, and the pictures taken from that day.

Donations being sorted.

Getting set up for Threads and Treads event.

I’m always amazed at what we as a body of believers can do when we choose to love and use our gifts and talents to serve others.  In June, a team of people began to ask for clothes donations from church members.  Each week those items were sorted through by a group of volunteers.  Bags are handed out with school supply lists inside at the beginning of July as well.  This year there were 300 bags, 50 bags per grades K-5, handed out, and of those 300 bags, 270 were filled and returned in their “Pack the Bus” event.  Some people chose to make a monetary donation towards Threads and Treads.  New socks and underwear were purchased with that money and distributed that day as well.  Over 120 Bibles were taken home this year!  Volunteers prepared hot dogs, chips, cookies, and lemonade for lunches.  This year one of the church members who is a hairdresser even provided free haircuts for 28 students.  LOVE IT!

The Big Day!

Back in Springfield July 27 – August 3, hundreds of people were able to participate in an extreme school makeover with West Side Christian Church as a part of Springfield Sharefest.   Back in 2011 1500+ volunteers and over 100 local organizations teamed up with West Side and the local school district to renovate one of the local schools.  After the makeover, volunteers provided a reading mentor program.  Lives were changed.  This year they decided it was time to do another renovation of another school along with providing some health, safety and enhancement projects at a second school.  It was an amazing project to be a part of.  RCC now has an opportunity to provide the volunteers for the reading mentor program.  So many people from all over the city and beyond working together to bring help and hope to a community is an amazing thing!  Lives are being changed, and I’m not just talking about the students, teachers, parents, or administrators.  I’m talking about everyone involved. 

 

A local PBS station did a piece on Springfield Sharefest this year on their Illinois Stories program.  I leave you with a link to it from You Tube.  It's about 25 minutes.  It’s an inspiring story of how we as believers can come together to make a difference in the lives of others.  It's worth your time to see how we can bless others because of how we’ve been blessed by Christ.  While God can use us as individuals, I think it is extremely exciting to see how He can use us when we come together and are unified!

Link to Illinois Stories piece about Springfield Sharefest