While my youngest granddaughter and I walked around the lake at our favorite park this afternoon, we witnessed the lake being stocked with trout. A truck pulled up in front of us, and a worker stepped out. He maneuvered an enormous pipe-like contraption from the side of the tank located on the back of the vehicle and pointed it at the water. He flipped a switch, which turned on the pump to transfer the fish from the tank to the water. Eight to nine-inch trout were deposited close to shore in the lake. Memories of another time and place entered my mind, and a JOYous smile flashed across my face.

Our family spent many summer vacations in the Sierras located in the high desert of California. When we first camped along the stream, our children were ages seven to eleven. We roughed it in the wild on the shore of Bishop Creek for two weeks. This time together became the highlight of the year.

Back in those days, I never worried about our children. They romped around within a quarter mile of the camp, and I stayed close by the tent site in case they needed me. Their laughter, yells, and squeals of delight as they caught trout, fell in the creek, played hide and seek, or set eyes on the deer or beaver echoed throughout the entire area. A smile rarely left my face as I listened to the JOYous sounds of my three offspring at play.

We welcomed a fourth baby when the others were teenagers. By the time she hit an age old enough to enJOY our summer holiday, her siblings no longer joined us. Our summer trips changed somewhat.

Don and I bought a motorhome and continued the summer vacations. We no longer made our camp along the edge of the stream but stayed in an RV park instead. A good-sized pond in the park became a favorite place to fish since the Fish and Game Department sent someone to stock the hole with trout every week.

The sound of the truck’s engine filled the air, and every man, woman, and young person ran to watch the production. Anticipation grew as the twenty-inch diameter cylinder found its place over the water. The noise of the motor changed as fifty to sixty of the eighteen-inch trout magically soared across to the middle of the pond and plopped into the murky water. The children’s faces radiated excitement and JOY as they shrieked and giggled in delight.

Once the trout were in their new home, the kids jumped into action. Some ran to their parents so they could get help with their poles. Others tried to catch the fish on their own.

Usually, there were two or three children who stood off by themselves eager to join in on the fun but not able to fish. Either they were without a pole or their parents told them to wait their turn. The young ones watched as the adults threw out their lines and became engrossed in their mission.

These youngsters wandered around the body of water and observed others catch their limits of trout. As you can imagine, some of the enthusiasm disappeared from the eyes of the youth who only moments before were JOY-filled and excited.

My husband wanted to catch his limit like the rest of the men around the pond, but his heart must have gone out to the kids. Perhaps a memory from his past crept into his mind. Whatever the reason, he threw out his line, and when a trout took the bait, he offered a chance to reel in the fish to the nearest empty-handed child. Laughter and excitement filled the air as children reeled in trout by my husband’s side.

Don unselfishly spent the next two to three hours with as many kids as possible. He let them catch and keep the trout they brought to shore. Later in the day while most of the men from the camp rested in their tents or RV’s, my husband headed back to the pond to get his limit of trout.

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We all have a little child within; one who wishes to have fun, laugh and giggle, and enJOY every minute of the day. But, as adults, we sometimes need to put aside our wants and help the young people experience JOY. We must show them compassion and kindness. They need to know we understand. We should teach the youth to share life experiences by sharing ours with them.

Yes, our responsibility to the youth is important, but we must not stifle our inner child either. As we reach out to the children, we must take the time to stop and smell the roses and watch the JOYful activities of the day.

Sometimes I believe God brings the little children into our world to remind us about the JOY He has put in our path. A cheerful child can melt an otherwise hard-heart. Happy children bring so much JOY to those of us who open up our hearts and souls. If we share life’s good experiences with them, we will make a difference in their futures.

Bless a youngster today. Find a way to bring him or her happiness and laughter. Then watch in awe as the child begins to live life to the fullest.

This one step can make a better tomorrow.

Be blessed, my friend, as you marvel at the sights and sounds of laughter and delight of our world’s children when they react to life with JOY.