The little things.....

I'm learning that it is the little, seemingly insignificant things in my daily life that mean the most to me these days. The unexpected "I love you" from my son's lips, the sweet giggles of my children as they play together, the caress of Ellie's hand on my cheek as rock her, the hug of a friend. Those little moments, as fleeting as they are, are priceless to me. It is in these moments where God continually whispers His love into my heart. I am sustained by these moments. Especially when the hustle and bustle of busy days consume the quiet times. These moments are mini-vacations of the mind. Time stands still for the briefest of moments.

This morning, after an early walk, I was again out in the backyard inspecting the plants. It's serene out there this time of the morning. The cool, crisp morning air...the stillness. I love it! And as I went over to take in the delightful, sweet aroma of my blooming roses, Ellie's rose bush again took center stage. Remember how it was budding leaves a few weeks ago? Her first rose is now opening among the few tender leaves. This is still so crazy to me. And it may seem crazy to you that I make such a big deal over it, but is holds much significance for me---more in the lessons it is teaching me than anything else. It echoes God's desire to delight me. Its almost as if He put that rose there just for me. A little gift from him to show me he loves me. I don't know if you any of you have ever read Stasi Eldredge's book Captivating (she is the wife of John Eldredge who wrote Wild at Heart,). Its a fantastic book...highly recommended...and it speaks often of these things. The back of the book reads,

"Every woman was once a little girl. And every little girl
holds in her heart her most precious dreams. She longs to be swept up into a
romance, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, to be the Beauty of
the story. Those desires are far more than child's play. They are the secret to
the feminine heart. The message of Captivating is this: Your heart matters more
than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the
longings you still feel as a woman--they are telling you of the life God has
created for you to live. He offers to come now as the Hero of your story, to
rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman. A
woman who is truly captivating."

In part of the story, the author talks about how, one day, her husband spent a morning on the beach talking to God and praying, and as he gazed out into the ocean, the huge form of a whale caught his eye. As he watched it, he was certain that God had sent that whale to him that morning, just for his sheer pleasure....just to delight his soul. Stasi, the author, then spoke about how she wanted such an experience with God. She wanted such a gift, and she prayed one day, that God would send her a whale. Literally. She went out to the beach, praying and talking with God and she asked him for a whale! :) But no whale came. She felt disappointed and wondered why God would not give her such gifts like he gave to her husband. Some time later that same morning I believe, as she walked along the shore, she happened upon a starfish in the sand. She thought it was beautiful and thanked God for the simply pleasure of seeing it. She knew it was not every day that one sees a starfish on the sand like that. But in her heart, it still was no whale! She wanted something grand....something amazing! (Oh, how we are all this way, aren't we? Wanting ever more than we have!) So....she continued on her walk down the beach and her conversation with the Lord. She related that as she rounded a bend a short time later, much to her surprise, a huge expanse of starfish laid out in front of her. Not just one measly starfish, but hundreds there on the sand before her!!!! God spoke to her in this moment that yes...he sent John (her husband) a whale because that was his gift for John. Just for him. But that He loves her just as much and wanted to give her something that would be meaningful to her! So he sent those incredible starfish. Something that would be hers and hers alone. Isn't God so that way! He longs to delight and love us in a way that is ours alone. Not in a cookie-cutter, one size fits all way. God loves each of us individually....uniquely. I love that! And this morning, through my simple, once-was-dead-and-now-it-lives rose bush, God delights me with a simple, lavendar rose. It may not be a hundred starfish or an enormous whale, but it is my gift from my heavenly Father!

So my question to you is, how is God delighting you today?