Today’s moment isn’t a single snapshot of time, but rather a place. The place I feel most content, most at peace, most still…
I was pregnant with Audrey the first time we heard about it. At a church event, a couple shared stories of a place they vacationed each summer with their family. Camp Arcadia MI. Nestled on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, they described how they enjoyed getting away from the chaos of life to be restored in body, mind and spirit. A haven for families…no technology…no television…just good old fashioned fun.
On Audrey’s 1st birthday, our own family set foot on those ground for the very first time. It was love at first sight. There’s a sacred feel, almost as though you are transported back in time to a generation where nature was revered, family time was cherished, and God was the foundation for all. It’s truly the one place I can breath fully, relax completely, and soak in the goodness all around.
Since that first trip, we have traveled those long miles every summer. Our girls speak about Camp Arcadia the same way I think about it in my thoughts. With pure joy, delight, and a bit of awe. I’ve been blessed to travel all around this wonderful world…Europe, Australia, Africa, Hawaii…there’s no place more beautiful, no place I feel closer to my Creator…my heaven on earth. One day when I’m gone, I hope my ashes will be sprinkled there, dancing across the sand, the waves, the shore. My spirit free to soar forever as it does each summer at RKD.
Theme From A Summer Place
There’s a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I’m safe and warm
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
And my heart is free from all care
For it knows, there are no gloomy skies
When seen through the eyes
Of those who are blessed with love
And the sweet secret of a summer place
Is that it’s anywhere when two people share
All their hopes, all their dreams, all their love
