Despite my struggles with polio in my youth, summers were for the most part full of joy.
My aunts and uncles and parents built a 30,000-gallon swimming pool in the heart of Emmottville. It was a magnet for me and my cousins and friends to spend long hours each day baking in the sun and rubbing Exxon Valdez quantities of Coppertone lotion on our bodies.
We swam in the morning. Ate lunch. Then, swam all afternoon until dinner. We swam so much that I am surprised we did not develop fish gills. Our skins looked like sunburnt prunes.
After dinner, my brother, Charles, my cousin, Howard Behrens, and our good friend, Larry Knigge, and I would load up into his land yacht on wheels and head off to play Putt Putt Golf on the southwest corner of Sage and Westheimer. We were so glad Larry’s beautiful and dedicated mother, Billye, entrusted him with her gold Continental Four-Door Sedan. It felt big enough to hold two large couches, two end tables, a coffee table, and two lamps.
After 36 holes of golf, then it was off to the A&W Root Beer Drive-In down Westheimer past Old Voss Road. When we reached drinking age, we ditched A&W’s non-alcoholic brew and consumed pitchers of beer at the Pizza Hut in Spring Branch.
These three establishments no longer exist. But the sweet memory of them and the joy Charles, Howard, Larry, and I shared still dwell in my heart.
God has spoken in Scripture as to finding joy in His Kingdom.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Psalm 16;11
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are the pleasures forevermore.
John 16:24
Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Let us pray together.
Dear God, this summer I need relaxation, peace, and time together with friends and family to reconnect and enjoy the beautiful world You made for us.
God, I know in all things You are the ultimate source of joy. I know You have given me life that I may enjoy the works of Your hands.
God, in prayer, please help me to make use of the summertime to share the Light of Christ and the joys of Your Grace as the daylight is longer and my faith in You grows ever stronger. Amen
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Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur, and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.
