The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Wow! I guess Friday officially comes in as “epic.” Waking up lakeside; coffee on the deck at a refreshing 62-degrees; “fishing” on the dock; the afternoon at the “Sleeping Bear Dunes” National Park; paddling in the cool waters of Lake Michigan on Sleeping Bear Bay.

Our son Andrew is so patient and encouraging and affirming with the children. The morning air was cool and invigorating. Alicia went out kayaking with Beks. Such a beautiful place to play and to listen and to build relationships.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes are amazing. More than 400-foot tall in places. And the Anishinaabek legend of the mama bear and her two cubs, swimming across Lake Michigan to escape a forest fire is such a heart-wrenching story.

The bear-cubs drown just before reaching shore, then the Great Spirit Manitou raises them as North and South Manitou Islands, laying a slumbering blanket of sand over the mother, who waits for them still.

I was especially proud of Rebekah’s determination to climb. “Tomorrow I turn 70,” she said. “I am not going to finish out my 60’s standing at the bottom and watching everyone else.”

And she did. The 45-degree ascent was a huge effort but, as you can see, there we are with the spectacular landscape all around us. Absolutely worth the effort. The morning rains cleared out a lot of the smoke but the views were still a little muddied by the particles suspended in the air.

Lake Michigan presented beautifully at the obscure and isolated location Andrew picked out. Our route was not even on the GPS, it turns out. Dirt roads, woods, bluffs, dunes, sand and crystal-clear waters.

By the time we got home and grilled some salmon for dinner it was past 8:00. Happy and exhausted, five-year-old Geoffrey asked to go to bed before the movie was over.

Geoffrey and I talked, I told him some stories, and then he put my hand on his head. “Give me a blessing, Grandaddy,” he said, his huge eyes serious and full of love.

So we prayed. And I asked God to bless him with all the grace and the peace and the love in the world. And the good day ended. And so, with God’s grace and mercy and blessing, may yours begin.

– DEREK