Cocoon

Wow! I'm getting withdrawal symptoms from being away from blogging for so long. I haven't had access to the internet for a while, as my life has been a whirlwind of activity over the last week-and-a-half. We have had to pack up our "lives" and move house, only to unpack all the stuff we'd just packed up a few days before. Moving can be a real drag. I discovered that moving actually reveals who your real friends are, (they are the only ones willing to move heavy washers and dryers, refrigerators and other large pieces of furniture which don't belong to them).

It didn't help that Orlando weather has attempted to simulate hell over the last week and a half, with temperatures running into the high nineties and the humidity creating havoc, with a heat index of 110 degrees. It made me wish that I could have jumped into an ice box to cool off. Interestingly enough, we had recently participated in a wonderful event for the city of Longwood, dubbed, National Night Out. It spotlighted local area businesses and ministries, and we were invited to participate by the city. The event was held at a base ball park and we had the privilege of being located on home plate. As we sweltered in the heat, I couldn't help but think about what it must be like to be cocooned in the arms of God, safe and secure from all harm. "It must feel like being in the airconditioning on a meltingly hot day," I thought to myself.

Then Laini, one of our associate pastor's daughters, demonstrated just what it was I had been thinking. She found one of the coolers that had been used to cool the water we were handing out to people, and promptly plonked herself down in it and shut the lid over her head. Right then I saw the sermon illustration! I wish adults were as uninhibited as kids, and much less pretentious than we are. If I'm being honest, we probably all wish we could have jumped into the cooler with Laini and cocooned ourselves in the cool, comfortable, and secure atmosphere that it offered. This is what is required of us as we are called to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. Sometimes it requires that we look "foolish" and jump into the cooler where we are cocooned in the safety of His everlasting arms while the "heat" of our circumstances swelters around us. I'm thinking about jumping into a cooler (if I can find one I will fit into), will you join me? Enjoy these pictures of National Night Out while you sit in your cooler.