Never Grow Old

I spent the evening at what we call here in Grand Rapids "the big mall." We have two others closer to us, but the big mall is just that...much bigger. Plus it has the Old Navy that sells maternity clothes and that was what I was after. I no longer fit into any pants that I owned pre-pregnancy so it was time to break down and get those jeans with the stretchy band around the waist. Thankfully Old Navy's jeans look like regular cool jeans in all other ways. I also got a pair of stretcy waisted khaki capris, two long shirts to cover my popping belly and three pair of granny panties that I will avoid wearing until I absolutely must.

After all that shopping it was time for my favorite treat...Dairy Queen Heath Bar Blizzard. I sat down in the food court to enjoy it and put my feet up. There's a great carousel in the middle of the food court so I sat near it to watch the little kids enjoy their ride.

And then...something very special happened, and I felt like God had placed me there right then to give me a sweet gift.

As the bells rang to signal the start of the carousel ride I realized that the only two people riding were a 50-something couple. They had found horses beside each other and were riding up and down, laughing together, looking at the lights and painted horses with delight, and smiling at the occasional onlooker.

I sat and watched their whole ride, a bigger and bigger smile on my face with every pass they made. What a picture of simple joy and of finding it in unexpected places. As the ride wound down, the lady slipped, a bit awkwardly, from her mount and saw me smiling at her.

From across the way she mouthed the words, "Never grow old."


I gave her an even bigger smile and a thumbs up...my mouth full of ice cream.

Then they walked on, arms around each other, laughing. It was beautiful. I don't think I'll ever forget it.