I love the waterlilies that border our end of the lake. I’ve been used to seeing the bright yellow ones (probably not really waterlilies at all), but here, there are the beautiful white ones with the heavenly scent. It’s like looking at Monet’s famous picture.
Occasionally, I’m able to snag one from the edge of the dock and take it home to sit in a bowl on the coffee table, filling the living room with the beautiful fragrance. Like I said, I love the waterlilies.
We’re now at the end of the summer season. For the past few months, the dock has been busy with swimmers and boaters, dogs and little children. It’s a busy place with a shallow sand beach for the toddlers and a diving raft a little further out in the lake for the more adventurous. But, early this morning, with a warning chill in the air, I had it all to myself.
Dog and I trotted out to the end and I sat with my feet dangling over the edge. The water was still warm so I knew that later in the day, folks be arriving for that last summer swim. But for the moment, it was all mine.
I looked out over the waterlily bed. Dragonflies were skimming over the water, and a little further out, a couple of ducks were arguing over diving rights. The sun was warm on my back, and for a blissful moment, all was well with my world.
Then I noticed something. Two empty soda cans were bobbing among the flat leaves, along with a cigarette package. The sun glinted off a potato chip bag, caught in the weeds. A couple of crumpled sandwich wrappers littered the shore as well as a plastic grocery bag. As I began to look more closely, I could see some abandoned running shoes, an old towel, and the remains of a broken sand shovel. The final insult: two piles of doggy doo, obviously from large dogs, deposited right next to the little beach.
“People,” I muttered to myself, “spoil everything!”
And even as the thought crossed my mind, I wondered if God, looking out over Creation, has ever felt the same way.
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