anticipation

The Gifts

~ Extravagant Hope ~ Leave a comment

The Gifts

The day is winding down. Putting on the tea kettle, I stand at the kitchen sink looking over the garden in the slowly dimming light. There are still birds and plump squirrels investigating the bird feeders and taking their evening baths before the sun fully sets.  The frogs in the marshy area of the open space nearby are beginning their evening chorus. Something about their song is soothing and I look forward to this acapella performance as a gift from nature that I get to unwrap.

The shouting kettle calls that it’s teatime, so I pour hot, steamy water into my mug with the word Serenity written in bold, black letters; the aroma of the Portland Blend black tea rising up. My hands are warm from the tea. A sense of calm settles on my shoulders as my mind wanders back over my day, recounting what transpired and all the blessings…

As usual, the dog and cats woke me up early, insistent that the established routine be followed. They don’t forget, so it’s best to get up and start the day – besides, coffee will be waiting! Their dependence on me for all their needs struck me. These beautiful creatures love and need me. It is wonderful to be needed and trusted. The gift of joy and unconditional love they offer in return is invaluable.

After tending to the animals, I spent the morning volunteering with other lovely people who have a heart for those who need extra help feeding their families. I’m tired at the end of the shift, but it’s a good tired. Helping take some of the worry and fear off of the shoulders of a weary mom, a struggling dad, a tired grandma is humbling and it’s a gift.

After lunch, a much-needed chat with some amazing women with the same fears, worries, and unknowns while our sons serve and protect our country is something I will never take for granted. These brave women fully understand it all. The support we give and receive is a beautiful and treasured gift. The heartfelt conversations and prayers of dear friends and fellow military moms and the safety to share those parts of life mean more to me than these precious women realize. They are a gift that I don’t take lightly.

As I ponder the events of my day, I see that there were many small, but not insignificant gifts that God showered on me. Things that might go unnoticed unless I looked for them.  Such as a good parking place, joyful birdsong, the way sunlight filters through clouds, a beautiful rainbow, a compliment from a stranger, and giving and receiving kind and encouraging words.

By intentionally seeking out these gifts places in our lives each day, our perspective can change from one of anxious worry to one of hopeful anticipation of the lovely gifts we will unwrap as our day begins.

There is joy in simply thinking about the intentionality and love our Father has for each of us. It is hard to grasp that I am so loved and cherished that I have the undivided attention of the God of the universe as He crafts and blends up joy, surprise, laughter, peace and intricate detail into every day I am blessed to wake up. He is doing this for you, too.

There will be days that are beyond hard to endure, with unwanted things that blindside, hurt and wound us. That is never to be dismissed or minimized. My limited understanding cannot explain it. But perhaps, in the midst of all the hard and unwanted, the calm and the peaceful, there are deeply personal and breathtaking gifts waiting to be unwrapped. I believe He delights in placing them in the midst of our messy and chaotic humanity – waiting for us to slow, to settle a bit, to look around in expectation of the good and the lovely because He is good, lovely, praiseworthy, and can be trusted. I love what Psalm 37:3 & 4 say, “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (NIV).

As I settle in for the night under my blankets with softly purring cats I feel a sense of calm settle over me.  Yes, there is still chaos and hard things swirling and poking for a place to seep in and cause worry, but the weight of those things are kept at bay, at least for the moment, as I focus my attention on the gifts I unwrapped today and allow my mind to wander and wonder at what I might find tomorrow… James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (NIV)

Autumn

~ Extravagant Hope ~ Leave a comment

We lover’s of Autumn have a sixth sense about us; a knowing when that first revelation of summer’s end has arrived.

It is felt on the skin in that barely discernable nip and twinge of air, charged with the slightest of chills; awareness that the atmosphere has changed just a smidge.

Autumn’s scent is unique and mischievous. Earthy and deep; wise, pungent and bold in the way brown leaf tips, restless trees and fading flowers bend and drop to the Earth, daring the one watching to stop them; to impede the ancient progress of a slow, yet lovely descent into quiet and rest.

That spritely spurt of wind, which tosses and dances fallen leaves and finished flowers round and round, is delightful. What is it about piling up crispy, browned leaves and then dashing them about; flinging them from orderly piles into random and untamed flurries of color? A new beginning; a tossing and mixing up of the old, lazy routine into something new; a plan to disrupt the status quo and wait patiently through the Winter, as that plan takes on form and substance. Somehow the chaos of it is lovely and energizing; part of the ritual. It is one more wild streak before the settling and simmering of Autumn moves on to the mystery and silent brooding of Winter.

The discerning observer will witness Nature’s response to the shift from the indolent, dog days of summer to Autumn’s call to let go; the song of quiet purpose and intention, as Mother Earth whispers it’s time to fold in, cozy up and allow rest to perform its miracles and the deep, sweet slumber of Winter to wait in the wings.

There is something inspiring and invigorating in this call to purposeful letting go; an anticipation. Is it the definitive color changes and that unmatched fall scent in the air that feels like a new beginning? Is it the crisp sensation of fall air as one breathes it in?

Welcome Autumn! Come and show off your colors and dare us to think about the dead or dying places that we need to let fall; not with sadness or fear; but with an anticipation that a season of silent regrouping, where new life starts to bud,  will soon break free with the coming of Spring.  It’s coming and it will be glorious!