A Date With David

Recently a single friend told me that one of the hardest things about being single is vacations. Hmp, vacations? I thought about it a bit. No one really wants to take a vacation alone, but I have my kids, or do I? All their lives they have been taking vacations with me, but they are older now and all have jobs. We weren't even able to schedule a small camping trip this summer because of every one's varied schedules. It's not just vacations though its outings of any sort really: day trips, going to the movies, taking a bike ride, etc. My kids are just not that in to spending lots of time with me on these things like they were when they were kids, so it leaves me to do them alone. I occasionally have a small pity party about doing things by myself. Take this morning for example, I wanted to go for a bike ride, a long one. A friend I asked wasn't available, and both kids were deeply entrenched in their spots on the couch with their eyes set on the TV, immovable. I decided to go it alone. I drove over to Tuolomne River Regional Park with a picnic lunch, my devotional, Bible, and a book. My plan: ride for a while, stop and eat, have some quiet time with God, and ride some more. I don't mind doing things by myself but sometimes you just want a companion. I rode and it was beautiful. I love that God gave us eyes with which to see the beauty of His creation, and would argue that he made things so beautiful entirely for our enjoyment. I stopped to eat at a quiet little grassy spot overlooking the river. The weather was perfect with a slight breeze blowing through the trees. I sat and watched dragonflies, giant ones, flying to and fro, and a hummingbird feasting on a row of yellow flowers just a few yards away, peaceful. All of a sudden a man approached. He introduced himself, his name was David. He didn't wait for an invitation, but sat down beside me and started up a conversation. David was maybe in his mid fifties, and appeared to be mildly developmentally disabled. He engaged me in conversation for at least 30 minutes. After my initial hesitation to engage this stranger I prayed that God would allow me to enjoy this encounter and that He would lead me to know how to respond. Eventually I told him I had to be on my way and we parted with David asking me when we could go riding together. He was a very sweet and friendly spirit. I rode away and contemplated this unscheduled meeting and laughed when I thought about how I wanted some company during my outing that day, and I got it. It wasn't the company I was expecting, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."