My daughter Elizabeth has a blog called "Making Today Beautiful". I have always loved the name of her blog, because it stirs my heart to do just that; make today beautiful. There is enough ugliness in the world to dishearten all of us into the grave if we allow it. All you need to do is turn on the news and ugliness abounds. Times are indeed difficult. But we can find beauty every day, just by slowing down, looking around and focusing on what we have right before us. All that God gives us is beautiful and every good and perfect gift comes from above; from our Father of Lights; only sometimes we get too busy or too stressed to see it.
Thus I find that it does me a world of good, to take a deep breath, slow down, cast off anything that makes me feel as if it is "too much", look around and drink in the goodness of God. Some times our soul needs healing before we can enjoy His blessings. The more "whole" our souls become in Jesus, the more we can find delight in each tiny thing God has given us.
When we first adopted our children from Russia, they were very wounded by the trauma of their earlier years. It was difficult for them to enjoy anything, or see what abundance they had. They "wanted", they "needed", but they had no satisfaction. We wanted to give them so much, but they could find no delight in any of it at first, because their souls were in great need of healing. God would show us specifics of what to pray for for them, and we prayed diligently for each of them, all the while trying to maintain a peaceful and loving momentum in our home (not always easy). But after a while, they settled in; healing began, and joy began. I remember praying that God would open their eyes to the beauty that surrounded them. The mountains and the countryside were so beautiful, but they didn't notice any of it, until after a season; I remember Olga declaring how beautiful the mountains were, out of the blue one day; almost as if for the first time she was seeing her surroundings.
And so it can be for any of us in one degree or another, if we have wounds in our souls that need healing. We miss the beauty of everyday blessings. But it doesn't have to be that way. We must let Him touch us and heal us.
Little pleasures, simple beauty, each are a gift. Flowers bought, or cut from the yard, a comforting drink, a beautiful smell, a peaceful sound, a soft touch, a sharing of food, a kiss, a snuggle, a laugh, a walk, a visit, a loved one, a friend, a pet, are all the sweet things of life, and all evidence of the goodness of God. How wonderful to have eyes to see, and ears to hear, to be able to taste and feel and smell it all.
God gave us our five senses so that we might receive blessing through them. Sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing; all amazing receptors.
There is beauty in each creation. This morning I filled my heart up by feeding these guys. I love that they all come over as soon as you start feeding them; even the fish come.
Who doesn't love to see a beautiful goose or a big fat turtle swimming in the pond.
I think even the snapping and soft shelled turtle are beautiful, and love how this one comes around for his portion.
This guy was just sitting to the side of my deck this morning, watching the geese, ducks, turtles and fish getting fed.
Turtles in the pond….
Canadian geese….
Tomatoes on the vine…
Hibiscus in a Pot...
Orchids that I purchased for so little at the flea market….
a little dollhouse from a garage sale, for the grandkids…. so many simple pleasures. What is on your list of blessings, and everyday beauty?
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Ecc 3:11
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
Two of my daughters have blogs that help you make today beautiful here are the links if you want to read them:
Elizabeth's blog: Making Today Beautiful
Marie's Blog: Baking Chic
Two of my daughters have blogs that help you make today beautiful here are the links if you want to read them:
Elizabeth's blog: Making Today Beautiful
Marie's Blog: Baking Chic
I have always admired your ability (which you passed down to your daughters, by the way) :) to create beauty in the midst of ordinary life. It is a gift, and I'm so glad you share that with your readers!
ReplyDeleteIt was so interesting to me about your adopted children not being able to "see" beauty. I wouldn't have guessed that would be the case; but as you describe it, it makes sense.
I also enjoyed seeing the turtle and the goose so close to each other. My kids and I just studied about alligator snapping turtles, and I found them fascinating (we don't have them around here). Actually, the more I study about all of God's creatures, the more I realize they are all fascinating -- even the ones I don't like very much, like snakes! ;-)
Usually the simplest things in life are the most beautiful. As the old saying goes, Take time to smell the roses.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such a thoughtful post today, Pam!
Pam,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post so much! I am seeing the same thing you talked about when you adopted your children in our adopted grandchildren. They are still in the struggles of trying to cope with everything and settle in. Praying they will soon be able to adjust and see the good things in life.
Your pictures are so beautiful, they truly help to show the beauty all around us.
Thanks so much for stopping by and was nice to read your comment. Will be praying that you can get things settles soon so your husband can be back with you.
Have a wonderful weekend!