Porch Nights Again

O LORD Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. Psalm 89:8


We're on the front porch.

The warm nights have returned.

"Can we all have ice cream?" Gabe asked after dinner. "Ice cream on the porch?"

Sounded like a good idea to me. But the big guys had plans. And Lonny had something at church.

So it's just the little boys and me.

On the swing.

And they're digging deep in to big bowls of chunky chocolate fudge.

I've missed these evenings. Ice cream on the porch has been tradition for our family. It been our coming-together time after busy, full days.

I watch Zay and Gabe spoon sweetness while their mouths ring a rich brown. The sun is getting low. The day is coming to a close.

It wasn't too long ago, really, that almost every night every chair on this porch was full. The two rockers on the end. The swing. The two deep wicker chairs. And the tiny, black rocker that had been mine when I was a girl.

Now we're a little more scattered.

Now we're a little more grown.

"Want a bite, Mama?" Zay asks.

I have a hard time resisting a man with a chocolate river down his shirt. I nod and he scoops. I taste the ice cream and he smiles.

It's quiet tonight.

The air is still.

The river flows.

It's just my two little men and me.

The swing creaks and I watch my sons. They curve into one another though there is plenty of room. They look up at me and I notice that their faces are taking on the slightest shade of summer brown.

Life changes.

Time goes on.

But moments like these?

They're different than they were before.

But every bit as sweet.

Thank you God, that when life changes a bit, You are faithful. Your blessings still come, and Your kindness remains.