Honeysuckle and Hammacks

When I get to heaven, I think I will be overwhelmed by the sights and smells and sounds that I encounter.  I always say that I'm going to play a fiddle in the praise band and eat chocolate, strawberries and drink jamacian blue coffee all day long.  One time each year, I think about the smell of heaven and that is during honeysuckle bloom here in Oklahoma.

Our four acres is surrounded by an Oklahoma jungle.  We have neighbors that moved here from Colorado and California.  They were amazed the first few years at how fast things grew and seemed to overtake their flower beds and landscaping.  Roundup becomes your friend when you live here because you can't seem to dig deep enough to dig out some of the stubborn plants and kill off the poison ivy and poison oak.  Every two weeks from mid-April to late-May, I mix up two gallons of Roundup and spray new poison ivy and oak plants just to keep more from sprouting up.

Most of the plants that grow wild in the woods are a bit gentler on the body and soul than the poison variety.  One my favorites is honeysuckle.  We have the white and yellow kind growing around our property.  I love standing still and quiet beside the forest and looking into that dark and overgrown mess.  As my eyes adjust, I begin to see movement that minutes before I didn't see.  It wasn't that it wasn't always there, I just hadn't stood still enough to see the subtle movings of the forest.  When the honeysuckle is blooming, that movement includes butterflies of all species.  Sometimes the honeysuckle actually looks like it is moving because of all the different kinds of insects moving from this flower to that flower gathering its sweet nectar. 

As a child, I would pick off a flower, pinch the back end off and suck that sweet nectar myself.  I have taught my children to do the same.  God provides a sweet little suprise in some of the most unlikely places! Now, as an adult, I don't hover around the honeysuckle craving something sweet.  I just like to breathe it in. 

Around dusk, my favorite place to be in the world right now, is in my hammock.  It is away from the house far enough, I feel like I'm in my own space.  From my hammock, I can see the playset, the trampoline and my garden but I'm still far enough away to almost be invisible to anyone.  Sometimes, I share my space with one of my children or my husband or Kate, my big german shephard.  But most of the time, it's just me, nature and God.  During honeysuckle bloom, the air about dusk is so loaded with honeysuckle scent that it's almost sweet to the taste.  Breathing becomes a joy and it's the best stress reliever around. 

Last night, I began my walk to the hammock and noticed someone had already beat me to it.  As I got closer, I realized that my daughter was already laying and swaying in the breeze.  I asked if she would mind sharing, she shook her head no and let me lie down beside her.  In a whispered voice, I asked what she was thinking about.  She said, 'Nothing, I'm just laying here breathing.' She didn't have to say another word, I understood.  When the air is filled with honeysuckle scent, breathing becomes the only priority.