Fun In The Sun

I had a lovely weekend. On Saturday I came up to Wasserstraelen to work out. There is a track that circles the building, so I walked for about 45 minutes, and then I did some arm exercises on a bench. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining brightly, a cool breeze kept me comfortable, and I even got some sun on my winter-worn face! On the bike ride home, I smelled a cookout. The smell of grilling meat reminded me of summers in Georgia, and I wished that I could take part in a cookout that night. Well God heard my wish and granted it oh so sweetly. Late afternoon, my dormmate, Nicholle, invited me to join her and her boyfriend, Thomas, for a cookout in the backyard of our dorm! I was ecstatic. We sat outside, talking while we waited for the coals to turn white. When the food, meat and bread, was ready, it was already dark, so we moved the party inside. Dinner was delicious, and the companionship much needed and appreciated after a homesick Friday. But the fun did not stop there. Let me be vulnerable with you readers. Sunday was a really lonely day for me. I was not sure of the source of that loneliness, but I was fully aware of its presence. Sometimes, in these moments, God puts a song on my heart which helps me express myself. I opened my mouth, and this song escaped: "When the loneliness creeps inside, when the heaviness rests upon my shoulders, would you come? Would you come? Would you fill me up with companionship. Would you fill my heart with your love." I felt better just singing these words, but I also knew God was listening, and I wondered what He would do with my prayer. Soon thereafter, I took a walk. I ran into my dormmate, Svenja, who had just returned from her hometown. She asked me what I was doing, found out that I was bored, and invited me to get some icecream with her. So we sat outside a small cafe, eating icecream and lauging at the hysterical antics of a small dog. All day, I had been sulking, thinking about how boring Monday would be. I do not work on Mondays, but I had nothing fun planned, so I anticipated sitting around all day. On the way back to the dorm, Svenja said that after work on Monday, she was going to visit a place called Blue Lagoon, and she invited me along. She said that the park makes one feel as though one is on vacation! Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. So Monday, we loaded up on our bikes and rode about 30 minutes to Blue Lagoon in a nearby town. This park can be compared to the lake at Callaway Gardens or the intramural fields at UGA. There was a lake, beach, volleyball, snack shack and water skiing, which was not done with boats but rather a sort of machine that attached to a person via rope and carried him or her around in a circle back to the shore. So we settled down on a blanket in the sand and decided to try the water. I stepped in up to my ankles, but the water felt like icecubes, so I could not go in any further. My feet started to go numb, and then Svenja splashed the freezing cold water all over me, and I screamed like a little girl. We layed out on the beach for hours, talking and laughing like old friends as we watched people dive into and react to the frigid water. It felt like a summer day, and as we basked in the warm rays of the sun, we dreaded the idea of going back to work. Before nightfall, we rode back to Straelen, played soccer in the backyard, and then ate dinner. After dinner, full of baked potato and salad, I noticed that my loneliness was gone, and in its place was companionship and love, just as I had prayed.