A Dream Come True

Well, this is it! I have a blog thanks to my sweet daughter-in-law who set it up for me as a Christmas present. I have been humbled over the years by people who have encouraged me to put my thoughts in print. It certainly isn't that I have profound wisdom to share, or that I have any earth-shaking news that needs revealing. I just love to write... to express thoughts about little things... the grace notes, if you will, that permeate our everyday experiences.

I'm not always even the one who can take credit for these observances. Many times they feel more like promptings from my heavenly Father to simply mark and enjoy the moments that shape my days... perhaps yours too. It seems the older I get, the more I notice and appreciate these tiny treasures as they reveal themselves. Walking beneath a canopy of sun-dappled leaves can stop me in my tracks. Spying the little house wren fastidiously "nesting" for her babies gets me giddy. Even seeing the sheets dancing in the breeze on my old-fashioned clothesline can give me pause... pause to notice, to wonder, to contemplate a bigger meaning.

I don't really know why these "little things" fascinate me so much. What I do know is this. I've always been kind of a "plain Jane" when it comes to adventure. I've rarely been out of San Antonio, my home town, much less been a world traveler. Oh, I suppose you could count the preschool years we lived in Inglewood when my dad was working in California, but I scarcely remember that; and perhaps you could include the mission trip to Louisiana and my daughter's wedding in Florida. Other than that, this gal is a homebody through and through.

Home became an integral part of our child-rearing years as we chose to school each of our four children at home from kindergarten through high school graduation. For the better part of twenty years our dining room table, and the learning that took place around it, shaped my existence. It isn't for everybody, I understand that, and it's not a platform I'm trying to push. It's simply something that worked well for our family and a time that I will always treasure.

So you see, it has always been the things right around me, the things at hand, that have given me the greatest pleasure... my faith, my family, my home... my little corner of the world. These are the things I know. These are the things I love most, and these are the things that fuel both my observation and my gratitude.

I take a great deal of inspiration from Paul's words in Philippians 4. He learned the gift of contentment. I'm learning that too. It's a process, an ongoing one. Fortunately, I have arrived at

a place and an age where I've found it's not necessary to live in the biggest house, to drive the newest cars, or to travel to the grandest destinations in order to enjoy life. True enjoyment is a choice. It's a choice to look at the blank page of each new day and ask yourself, "What amazing thing am I going to discover today?" It's a conscious awakening to promise, to possibility... to purpose. It's appreciating all the little things, the abundant beauty around us - the twinkle in a child's eye; the scent of laurels coming into bloom; the comfort of a loved one's embrace.

It's about a blessed life and a thankful heart.

Here's to many more blank pages... and to the contentment of the everyday things that fill them.