A Late Summer Walk – William O’Brien State Park

William O’Brien State Park, Minnesota

The William O’Brien State Park is one of my favorite places to go for a walk.

Choices … choices.  A stroll next to the St. Croix River or through the woods. This time, the walk through the woods won out and with very few people out walking, it made the walk even more peaceful.

The day couldn’t have been more perfect.  Sunny with occasional restful clouds floating by.

Sometimes I look at nature and it looks messy to me – grasses growing amidst weeds and flowers with an occasional bug flitting in and out of the mess.

Yet it reminds me that this is how life is also.  No day is exactly the same and sometimes the stress of illness, work or family drama all blends together.

William O’Brien State Park, Minnesota

And then … it’s as if someone pulls a blessing out of the sky and plants it right in your path. The heart goes back to breathing regularly, the drooped shoulders relax and the furrowed brows line disappear.

These are the small moments of blessing that I look for every day.

William O’Brien State Park, Minnesota

Sometimes ~ just around the bend ~ a large blessing stares me in the face.  Unexpected and breathtaking, it brings such joy to my heart.  Today, it was a pair of swans sitting on a beaver dam. Although the dam looks messy, the beavers spent much time putting those sticks in an orderly fashion.

William O’Brien State Park, Minnesota, Swans

And suddenly, my cares wash away as a field of grass lies before me.

William O’Brien State Park, Minnesota

And it’s enough. Enough to overcome any stresses for the day.

“He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth.”  Psalm 104:14

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