Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: River (08/31/06)
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TITLE: He Still Is | Previous Challenge Entry
By Kimberly Barnes
09/05/06 -
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We were camping at Yellowstone National Park along a little creek bank. From the place where we pitched our tents, we could also hear the roaring of the mighty river and its waterfalls. I watched my husband pitch tents, haul wood, light fires, and carry load after load of all the stuff I insisted on bringing. I remembered how I use to think he was the strongest man alive. He still is.
The next day I watched him strap our one-year old daughter to his back in her favorite “Daddy pack”. He carried her for miles along the hiking trails by the riverbed, crooning softly to her as she tried to fall asleep when the journey got too long. He stopped often, not for rest for himself, but to check that her sunhat was still on properly and that she was getting enough to drink. I remembered how I use to think he was the gentlest man alive. He still is.
I smiled as we arrived at the largest waterfall we had ever seen. Light was passing through the waterfall and refracting to make what seemed like millions of colors dance on the river below. My oldest son took my husband’s hand and said, “What makes that rainbow, Daddy?” Without a moment’s hesitation, he began an impromptu science lesson that was full of facts, yet still gave it in a way that a six-year old could understand. I remembered how I use to think he was the smartest man alive. He still is.
As we sat around the fire that night with the sounds of the river echoing around us, we laughed and laughed. We sat with our friends and told jokes and funny stories all night long. It seemed that everyone laughed the hardest when my husband spoke. Even the stars seemed to dance when he launched into a tale. I remembered the days when I thought he was the funniest man alive. He still is.
Early the next morning, even before the sun came up, he took our three-year old on a nature hike down by the river. They walked through the early morning mist looking for sticks and stones and flowers. They came back with a bag full of goodies and a very smiley little boy high atop his Daddy’s strong shoulders. I thought about all the times I had leaned on those shoulders. I thought of the times he had carried me when life’s little treasure hunts had been more than I could handle. I remembered the days when I thought of him as my rock. He still is.
That afternoon we toured geysers, watched amazing wildlife in their own habitats, and returned to the beautiful river with its shimmering waterfalls, but nothing was a more exciting sight for me than the one I found at the end of the day. There by the riverbank was the man I love. He was stretched out in his favorite hammock with a sleeping baby on his chest and a Bible in his hands. The Word of God poured over him like the water over those falls, and because it did, it poured over the rest of us, too. I remember the day I realized he was only mine to borrow. He was God’s man. He still is.
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