Reaching the moon

As I drove home tonight and the moon was full I was thinking about what simple things I take pleasure in.  How I wish that I could reach up and just touch it.  Hold it in the palm of my hand.  And I wish that the childhood story was really true.

You know the one. 

The one that your parents used to tell you when they went somewhere without you.  The one that tells us that we are not that far from one another because we can see the same moon.

I wish that I could reach out & touch all of the people that I love that are looking at my same moon. 

Friends that are in far away places. 

Family that is further away then I really am comfortable with.

People that I haven’t seen for months or years.

Loved ones that have spanned the globe & left my heart a little more empty….because they took a piece of it with them.

I love that the world really is small enough to share my same moon.

But sometimes, it isn’t small enough for me.

I want to have you in my presence…..not just in my heart.

We can look at the same moon.  But I wish we were standing side by side talking about how gorgeous it was.  Breathing the same air.  Able to not just embrace the moment, but embrace one another because we are here….together.

Seeing the moon tonight makes my heart ache.

I know that some that are seeing the same full moon tonight…..I will never see again.

Not here on this earth anyway.

Time & life & circumstances will not allow for it in some respects.

But I do know the One that engineered it.  And I know that space & time will mean nothing when we are in the ‘there & then’. 

So for now, I will just take pleasure in the beautiful moon that is out tonight.  And I will pray that everyone that I love….friends here & now & those that once were….that they know how much I love them & how much I wish they were here.

I Get To!

I am mom to a 4-year-old daughter & twin boys.

Life is hectic.

Chaotic.

Loud.

Busy.

Stressful.

There is never enough….money….or time….or patience.

There is not a day timer in the world that I have found that can organize me well enough.

There are meals to make & laundry to do & hugs to give.

‘Ow-ies’ to mend.  Playdates to plan.  Doctor appointments to get to.

There is a house to clean.  Baths to give.  Things to teach.  Lessons to be learned.

We play & laugh & discipline & protect & instill.

It is 24/7.  Never ending.  Exhausting work.

It requires the highest level of time management & puts any end to feeling in control of anything going on in my own life.

There is never a dull moment.

 Someone always needing something.  A snack.  A drink.  A band-aid.  A hug. 

They fight over everything.  From who gets to sit in the front of the cart at the grocery store to who wears the orange Crocs or the blue.

As tiring as it is….as exhausted as I feel at times…I GET TO!

I GET TO….

Tuck my children in bed at night.

I get to play with them & read them bedtime stories.

I get to be the one that gets the ‘tightest hug ever’!

I get to be the one that makes them butterfly sandwiches.

I get to orchestrate the best birthday parties & stay up until midnight making cupcakes with sprinkles & colored frosting.

I get to teach them to ride a bike.  Be good friends.  Respect the earth. 

I get to sit on the sidelines.  In the audience.  In the bleachers.

I will get to teach them how to drive & help them with science projects.

I get to be the one that helps them.  Holds them.  Hugs them.  Loves them….more than anyone else they will ever know.

I GET TO! 

When I am tired & the day is done….when the last thing I really want to do is give 3 kids a bath & put their jammies on & fight the battle that always ensues b/c ‘they AREN’T tired’…..I remind myself that I was chosen!  I GET TO have the privilege of doing ALL of this.  Every bit of it.  I get a job that some can only wish for. 

I get to hear their giggles as I push them on the swings.

I get to be the one that is the recipient of the hugs & kisses.

I get to be the one they want to dance with & cuddle with & play with.

I get the honor.

I was chosen.

I have been given a gift.

In the screaming & the late nights & the potty training & the never ending needs….

I GET TO!

And I am SO incredibly lucky!!

Ordinary Miracles

It’s an ordinary day.

Quiet as the mornings usually go.

She has been up for hours.

Lost in her regular routine.

Sweeping the floor.

Mending torn clothing.

Praying prayers that only a mother can pray.

She packs him a lunch.

5 loaves of bread & 2 fish.

She thinks that will be sufficient.

He is growing.

He will probably wish for more.

But for today, it’s what she provides.

She kisses him softly & sends him off as she always does, with love.

She prepares for a meal.

He plans for a glimpse of Jesus.

No one anticipates the miracle.

She was happy feeding one.

Jesus had other plans.

Her ordinary task…..

became His extraordinary work.

Her preparation for one…

Became His gift to five thousand.

Are we preparing for an ordinary day, not expecting an extraordinary outcome?

Do we place a limit on a limitless God?

Are we missing the miracles?

When we utter a kind word.

Hand a blanket to a homeless man on the corner.

Volunteer at a soup kitchen.

Smile at a stranger.

Visit an elderly relative.

Give a hug.

Lend an ear.

Ask forgiveness.

Shovel a neighbor’s sidewalk.

It is in those ordinary tasks, with an open heart, that He multiplies that love & extraordinary things happen.

We may not see the miracle. 

We may only see the simplicity of the act with our limited vision.

To us, it may only be a….

….a dollar given

….a word spoken

….a pair of old shoes

….a loaf of bread

But to those that He places in our path to receive it, it may be the miracle that they have been waiting for.

So go get prepared!!  Big miracles are coming.

He writes the story

I can almost see Him.

Pen in hand.  He begins to sketch.

And as it moves across the paper, He ponders His creation.

'She will have blonde hair & hazel eyes'.

'I will bless her with sight so she can see the beauty in the world'.

'I will give her hands so that she can give away some of what I will give to her'.

'She will have a soprano voice.  Fair skin.  And I will place a birthmark on her right thigh that resembles a turtle.  He grins at His own light-heartedness'.

His heart overflows as He writes of all the things she will witness.  All that she will shed a tear over.  All of the friends that He will put in her path.

He pauses.

He makes sure that every detail is as He would have it.  Even in the chapters that He knows she would rather not be a part of.  The ones that bring sadness & question.  The ones that stretch her character & make her wonder why He would have her in that moment.

But He is the author.  He knows the happy ending. 

He leaves a few blank spaces for those times that she chooses to run to Him.  The times that she will choose to fall on her knees and praise Him even when her heart & soul are tearing apart.

Spaces left blank so SHE can fill them in.

By the choice of seeking Him instead of worldly things.  

He laughs as He edits paragraphs.

With a gentle swipe, He erases hurts.

He knows that some chapters will be longer than others.  That they will reflect heartache & discouragement.  With the pen in His Mighty Hand, He writes of those things, tears drop to the pages.  Because He knows my hurts, He cries when I cry.  The ink faded but the words can still be made clear ‘I Love You!’

And then there will be those that will highlight love, laughter & new beginnings.

He jots down all of the places that she will live, the roads she will travel, the thoughts she will think, the words she will say. 

He will place love in her heart & praise on her lips….for Him & all of the gifts He gives her.

He will give her a voice so she can give her testimony.

He will give her ears so that she can listen to those that need a friend.

He will place laughter in her soul & give her a gentle spirit.

He does not make her perfect by any stretch of His Ever-Perfect imagination.

He knows she will be impatient. 

She will say things she doesn’t mean.

She will hurt people that she loves.

She will offend with her lips.

She will think sinful thoughts.

She will walk away from Him at times.

But He writes good intention on her heart.  He places compassion in her soul.  He gives her hands to reach out when the things she has done or said have hurt another. 

And in the final chapter, as every great story goes, she will close her eyes for one last time.  He will lay His pen aside & close the book.  And His voice will resonate throughout the Heavens ‘Now THAT was a beautiful story’.

And it will be in that very moment……that the REAL Love Story will begin.

We will build

The structure is the project.

Dixie cups & colored pipe cleaners strewn throughout the table.

Popsicle sticks are carefully aligned to make the floor-each one gathered by hand & glued together.

Then the walls go up.  Siding made of cardboard & decorated with tissue paper & glitter.

A multitude of colors are splashed across the 4 walls.

It will not be entered into the Parade of Homes.

It will not win a coveted award.

Chances are, it will fall apart the minute the glue dries.

The glitter will rub off.

The yellow pom-pom flowers will loosen their grip.

But the memory of embracing a moment will reside in my heart forever.

They will not remember the details of the day or what we built.

But somewhere down the road, they will be reminded, by a whisper of their heart, that we DID build.

We built a relationship of unconditional love.  Bound with laughter & the essence of time.  Secured with a strong foundation of faith & trust.

It may not win an award that is hung on a wall or sits in a prominent place in our home but that’s not what matters to me. 

I have the reward already.  In the giggling I hear.  The joy I see in them as I spend simple moments doing simple things.  I have won something that can’t be bought.  I have helped to build something that will withstand eternity.

Just a good day

Such a simple post today really.

As I am preparing things for our last MOPS meeting tomorrow, I am so amazed at the beauty God places in our lives. 

I can hear the gentle breeze rustle the new leaves on our trees outside.

I am making flower arrangements for each table & thinking….He didn’t even have to give us flowers.   

But not only did He give them, He made them in the most gorgeous shades. 

So right now, I am sitting here looking at red tulips & orange gerber daisies & purple iris’ & pink carnation & it just makes me smile.

And tomorrow, when the music plays & the candles are lit & the flowers sit on the tables….when laughter fills the air as we come together for the last time, I hope that each woman knows what a great woman that she is, what a terrific mom she is & that she is a blessing to so many.