You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant.—1 Chronicles 17:26 (NIV)

I’m walking through New York’s Central Park on a flawless summer day, my dog, Gracie, in tow, no particular place to go. 

A band is setting up at the Naumburg Bandshell for a concert. On the Great Lawn, a group is practicing tai chi. Further on, a man on a unicycle zips by blowing a kazoo (it is not for me to ask why). A woman pushes a twin stroller containing twin Yorkies. Gracie seems genuinely bemused. 

On a bench in the shade of a voluptuous oak, a man reads his Bible. He looks up and smiles. I give him a little nod. Further down the mall, a young couple is selling used books spread out on a blanket. I hope they’re doing it to make room in their apartment for more books. 

We walk by the lake, the rippling breeze sending a toy sailboat scurrying across the water, its young captain running along the shore beside it. Further out, weekend sailors in rented rowboats try not to collide. Gracie pulls me toward a hot-dog stand, and before I can change course, the vendor is smiling. He knows he has a customer. I give in and buy a hot dog, repairing to a bench where I share a bite with Gracie. 

Here’s the thing. I am not actually strolling in Central Park. It is a wet, sunless day when the rain won’t stop, and the dampness goes right to your bones. Gracie is wet and, well, fragrant. Frankly, I can’t wait for the day to end so I can crawl into bed. But all the things I described I have seen, and I will see again and more, for God is good and there are always brighter, warmer, drier, better days ahead. Until that next flawless summer day comes, I can live and dream God’s blessings in my mind and praise him for the goodness that is sure to come.