Small and Wonderful Things . . .

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard 

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life.   It's the small things in life which truly mean the most.


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Prayer.  It's not just for big things.  It is one the foundations for my life and I could not go a day without this constant communication with my Heavenly Father.  I pray constantly, even if I am not on my knees when I am doing it.  This morning I could not find my eye glasses.  I cannot see or do very much without my eye glasses.   I've been wearing them since I was six years old.   I looked, and I looked and I looked.  I looked in all of the usual places and even in some unusual places.  I felt sick at heart about it as Todd and I cannot afford to buy a new pair of glasses and I was worried that . . . like his teeth . . . Todd had accidentally flushed them down the toilet as the last time I remembered having them was when I took them off to wash my face in the bathroom before I went to bed last night.  I came downstairs and let Mitzie out and then I went back up so the bedroom to have one final look and as I did I knelt by my bed and said a little prayer to my Heavenly Father, asking Him to help me find my glasses, and then I opened my eyes and looked to the left and there they were . . . tucked underneath the edge of a book on my night stand.  And then I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving.

Prayer . . . it works for the small, seemingly inconsequential things too.


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Yesterday in Relief Society we had a lesson, beautifully taught by Shirley on a talk which was given to us by President Dieter F Uchtdorf during April's General Conference, entitled The Hope of God's Light.  This talk is about how the love of our Heavenly Father through the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ can surround and uplift us.  If you click on the title, it will open up a new window where you can read this amazing talk for yourself.  Yesterday I was feeling quite low about something which had gotten me really down.   Family stuff . . . you know how that goes.  Anyways, I was having a difficult time finding the light.   My whole being felt as if you would only just barely touch it, I would split open and spill out all over the place.  My very soul was aching . . . and then I heard this lesson and it pricked my heart in such a way as I was able to rise about the feelings which were bringing me down . . . 

"But even though we may feel lost in the midst of our current circumstances, God promises the hope of His light . . . He promises to illuminate the way before us and show us the way out of darkness."
~Dieter F Uchtdorf.

No, the path of life is not easy and was never promised to be easy . . . darkness exists.   There is an opposite in all things though and as dark as things may seem to be, there is an equal light to make up for it and to lift us beyond it's grasp.  It's up to us where we choose to dwell.   That did not mean I didn't cry myself to sleep last night . . . but it did mean that they were noted and important to Him . . .

Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book"
~Psalm 56:8



Fur-baby cuddles on the sofa.  The love of an animal is unconditional and constant, no matter what.   You can depend on it.   I love our little fur baby.  No matter how I am feeling she is there ready and waiting for a cuddle . . . and she cuddles back.   We could not have any of our own children . . . but we have had our fur babies and they have enriched our lives in innumerable ways.   Where would we be without them.


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Todd planted an envelope of wild flowers in one patch of our garden this year and there are lots of wild daisies blooming at the moment.   They are so beautiful.  I love them.   They remind me of the sun, and smiles and summer.   Small, and yes . . . pretty wonderful.

 

Heartfelt and meaning conversations with my sister.   She has always been my best friend.  I can always trust in her to tell me the truth, even if I don't always like it.   I hope that she knows how very much she means to me.  Family . . . it is the greatest gift that we have been given here on earth, even if for some people it doesn't always feel that way.  You share a history with your family that you do not share with anyone else.   I am grateful for my mom and my dad and my sister and my brother.  There is a tie there that will never be broken, no matter what, no matter how, no matter when.  Loyalty.   Fidelity.   Love.  Support.  They are everything to me.

A thought to carry with you through today . . .

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 
~Albert Einstein



Proof yet again that it is the simple things which bring us the most joy.  In the English Kitchen today . . . a Simple Rice Pudding.

Have a good week everyone!