In Just 90 Minutes

When my Mountain Man first moved us to the Land of Enchantment, I was not enchanted at all. I missed the green. The green. The green. I missed southern tea and polite people and fried foods and houses with big front porches and swings. I missed suits and ties and ladies putting on their best clothing for the Queen of Days. The brown landscape, the often-rude natives, the obsession with organic foods, the adobe houses, and the beach-wear worn to church left me feeling very out of place.

I cried several times a week for the first 6 months of our living here. I was the contentious woman that a man dreads coming home to. My favorite question to ask was, "Why in the world did you bring us here?" followed with a very passionate, "I hate it here!" God's sovereignty was a foreign concept to me, so everything was my Beloved's fault, and I was just wondering why God didn't put an end to all of my misery. All I knew was how barren the landscape was and how barren my heart felt.

Here we are, 15 years later, still living in the desert. I have majestic mountains right outside my window, and I can't look at those mountains without thinking of the greatness of God. I witness some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world. In other words, I can see the beauty that was here all along, the beauty that my fist-pounding, temper-tantrum-throwing self refused to see.

We took a walk last week, a nature walk. 90 minutes of stopping along the way to wonder at the earth declaring the glory of God, with its asters and buffalo gourds and unidentified works of His hands. So much  of HIS goodness seen in just 90 minutes, and I marveled at it all. Wait! There are cows and horses and anthills and wildflowers and grasshoppers and...

But most of all, it was a walk down the memory-lane of God's goodness to me, reminders in purple and green and blue and orange, and in the form of little people with the cutest legs ever and the happiest smiles, little people who see life and marvels and God's goodness wherever they are. How could I have ever thought God set me in a barren place?

What a wonder it is that He gives us eyes to see.

How to Make Grandma Smile

Thankful Thursday~Even Piglet Noticed

Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, 

it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.

~A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

 

I'm thankful for moments like this when our children are helping one another. I'm grateful for the mothering instinct that God gives little girls.

 I'm thankful for children who enjoy food.

 I'm thankful to be part of a family of book lovers--right down to the littlest guy.

I'm thankful for children who love the outdoors and who always find amazing things to do with the resources He has provided.

 This is one of the most beautiful flower bouquets I've ever received. Why? Because they are from my sister, Catherine, whose husband recently died of cancer. But, it gets even better. I sent her this exact flower arrangement in remembrance of her wedding anniversary. She loved them so much and wanted me to be able to enjoy the same beauty, so she sent some to me. To know that we're both looking at the same flowers is a precious gift, a tying of the heartstrings across these many miles.

 And what better thing is there to do when on Daddy's lap than to look at a book?

Last, but not least, Grandma has arrived. :)

With love,
Trisha

Decisions, Decisions~A Pictorial

***No children or books or chocolate were hurt during the 45 seconds that this event took place. No staging or coaxing were required, as this is the natural behavior of babies from chocolate-hoarding-book-loving families.