God has a way

of warming us from the inside if we only allow it to happen.  There are times when even my insides are so shut up and cantankerous that His grace seems not to be able to penetrate.  Lately, however I have been actively trying to be open the whatever God sends in the way of encouragement because at times things have been changing so fast my life feels just like a snowball rolling down a mountain.  

I have found that if you stop, I mean really stop, and listen, look around and ask yourself what He's putting in your path the answers seem to come out of seemingly everyday occurrences and shining a new and glorious light on all of them.  The birth of a new grandson, for example, always wonderful, becomes virtually miraculous when viewed through the lens of the divine.

The love that seems to be innate between siblings is another blessing that shouldn't be taken for granted.  I have been asked more than once about Layn's reaction to his new brother.  Instead of simply answering that, "Of course he loves Christopher," all I have to do is see the smile on his face and the shine in his eyes and the truth of that statement is more than apparent.  

The thick mist and chill of a Saturday morning, rather than being an inconvenience, becomes a blessing and a chance for appreciation of the wonders of God's plan.  As I sat on the deck stamping the view on the canvas of my memory the intricacy of this spider's wed caught my eye.  Then not only one but countless others were revealed by the mist that was hanging on the threads that were hanging there.

Even the gnarled old Ash tree standing in the yard and the memories that it invokes is a blessing if I let it be so as I sat there.  The play of voices and scenes from the lives of my children rather than making me sad served to cement my connection to this place and help to make it possible to say good-bye.

A husband who freely and unselfconsciously crawls on the floor with his grandson and gets silly with Mr. Potato Head has to be one of the greatest ways that God reminds me of his hand in my life.  It is this kind of love that speaks most eloquently of God's complete giving to his creation.

Finally the gift of friends who surround us and intentionally blur the lines separating us are perhaps God's way of saying concretely that he is never far and we are never alone.