Tiny Presents

Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17

 

How to say this?

I’m scared-happy.

We went to Restoration Hardware this week (in my head, angels start singing whenever anyone says those two words).  I might know someone who once involved a host of strangers, the US Army, and hours of autobahn driving, to get 2 RH lamps to her Munich home…

As we got out of the car I had to force my feet to walk normally.  I wanted to run in and see everything all at once.  Then, sitting in the perfectly gorgeous showroom, speaking with a designer, I felt posh… like my servants were bringing me a martini at any minute.  The children were even remarkably adorable and well behaved(!).  We talked chandeliers and buttery leather vs weathered italian fabric.  Really.  This was nearly too much goodness for me to handle all at once.  When we walked out, Steve took my hand and said, “This was your best day ever, wasn’t it?”  Yes, it was, darling.  Now find me that martini so we can celebrate.

But this feels weird.

I don’t mean to say that the Father hasn’t been good to me, after all, this blog is whole-heartedly dedicated to Him, but I’m in unfamiliar territory.  My sea legs are built for the uncertainty of nail-biting situations.  I’m a trained warrior.  This is what I know.  This is what I do.  With the boxing gloves off, I’m not so sure what to do with my hands.

And it doesn’t stop at furniture.

We’re staying with my parents right now.  When I wake up, I lay still and listen.  Hoping my dad is back from 5am prayer.  Wondering if my mom is still having coffee so I can see her face before she leaves for work.  Are the kids already up begging for ego waffles and sparkling water?  I listen because there is FAMILY in this home.  We have real, actual family here… all the time.  No more Skype calls from 1,000’s of miles away.

And then there’s the conversations…  Like while writing in Panera this week, a young guy came up to me and said, “I’m practicing being thankful for things.”  A little surprised, but game for the conversation, I said, “And what are you thankful for today?”  “Being ALIVE!” he answered, as his feet literally left the ground in a physical exclamation point.  I continued to sit and work and he’d come back and ask me random things about God, and then trail off (while I was mid answer) back to cleaning tables.  I loved it so much that I stayed longer just in case he wanted to awkwardly talk about anything else.  Because, you know, I can speak to him – in ENGLISH.  Something I hope to never take for granted again.

But here’s the deal, if I’m going to be truly honest, it’s hard for me to write these things to you.  I feel like the bad days in life are more relatable.  It’s what ministers most to people’s hearts.  It’s the thing you forward to your hurting friends and depend on when days are dark.  Shared tears make us feel known and they empower us to push forward.  They are what makes blogs like mine work.

But I think it’s high time we remember that walking with our Father is not just about overcoming the tough.  It’s about receiving the great goodness too.

It’s like Tiny Presents…

My dad recently said to me, “Heather Lynn, the Holy Spirit has all these gifts He’s been so excited to give you.  Everyday, He’s handing you tiny presents.  Moments.  Relationships.  Sofas.  And He delights in watching you open each one.  This is a gift-wrapped season.  Don’t be uncomfortable in it, just be grateful!”

You, my friend, have a Father who longs to give you gifts.  And they are everywhere (from the tiny to the ginormous).  From the moment your eyes open.  Breath.  Life!  (The kind my Panera friend, Joel, would jump about).  Tiny presents like an awesome shirt on clearance, funny conversations with little kids, slaps on the butt from your adoring spouse, pink champagne, a smile from the driver stopped beside you, and, well, you can fill in the rest – the list is personal and endless.

Celebrate those things!  See them.  Enjoy them.  RECEIVE them.  And, for the love of God, celebrate others when it’s happening to them.  For all of the diamonds in all the earth have not the wealth of how our God cares for our EVERY need.  Seeing Him care for yours, should encourage us to remember that He will care lavishly for ours too.

Tiny presents… I’m grateful for a season filled with a few more surprises than usual.  And, please, when I’m knee deep in paint and construction in a few weeks’ time, would someone remind me to look for the hidden treasures in those days too?  I can be so ridiculously forgetful.  😉

“And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the flowers of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you…”
Matthew 6:26-30 ♥