Surrounded by Merry

Ink and I were running errands yesterday when I got a call from David. The news was heavy and hard. As I drove around I was praying and crying and praying and wondering. Thinking deeply about what is good and just and right and knowing that God is all of those things.

While walking out of a store, I told Ink what I wanted him to do if I was ever in the hospital and unresponsive. He told me I was being morbid. I insisted I was being realistic. He replied, "Realistic is crying. Telling me what you would want me to do  is morbid." Perhaps. But, I'm also the Mom whose older children know what hymns I want played at my funeral.

As we pulled up to a stop light, I caught a Daddy bending over to zip up his son's jacket. It wasn't the act itself that made me smile. It was how tenderly he did it. You could tell this father delighted in his son, and you could tell this wiggly, smiling boy loved his Daddy. It was beautiful. It was a grace note.

Then while we were in Costco, a little girl dressed in an airy white dress skipped right by me and ended her performance with a twirl and a big grin. How could I not smile?

Yesterday I spied the Littles enjoying their homemade see-saw. So simple, and yet, so merry.

I had to capture the joy.

These scenes were water in the desert.
Sunshine in the valley.
Merry in the heartache.

They were sweet reminders of the presence of the LORD, of His care and His compassion.

Because God pours out merry all around us. We just have to have eyes wide open, mouths ready to praise Him, and hearts eager to meditate on His mercies.

Thank you for your continued prayers for David and Michele. Michele is heavily sedated right now as the doctors focus on improving her heart and breathing issues. We wait and we pray and we hope!

With love,