I've been thinking a lot about gratitude lately and what it means to be able to sit on the edge of your bed every night and just whisper to the heavens . . . "This has been the best day ever." To live life with a cup that is consistently half filled instead of being half empty . . .
To be able to find joy even in the midst of captivity . . . to be a woman with a mustard seed faith.
I hope that I never lose the ability to find the joy that is held within each day, for it has made all the difference in the world. To me.
Sometimes life can feel so muddied, messy, clogged up. I have been there. I have felt that. And yet, even when I was traipsing through the mud I knew that things could have been oh-so-worse. That for many things are much worse. That even in the midst of the mire, there were miracles to be found and strength to be gathered.
Light to be discovered.
I was thinking the other day about the story in the bible of when the Savior knelt in front of his Disciples to wash the dirt from their feet. How very unexpected that was. He poured water into a basin, took a towel and then, one by one, began to wash the dust and the dirt of the day from off of their sandaled feet . . .
An act of service, a job most people would not want to do . . . a job usually reserved for the lowest of the low in the household.
The thought came to my mind about how very much prayer at the end of the day can be like that . . . the act of allowing the Savior to wash the dust and the dirt of the day from off of our sandaled and tired feed.
Most people don't want to enter into our messes. A great many people turn and walk immediately away and in the other direction when faced with your mess, with your dirty feet . . . but not the Savior. He doesn't mind touching dirty feet. Not only is He willing to touch them, He is willing to wipe them clean.
To touch the dirt and the mess . . . and, if we let him . . . to wipe it away, or at the very least to help shoulder the burden of the mess with us.
He performs miracles in dirt and in mess. He holds our feet tenderly in the mess and gathers us into Him. He is not afraid of the mess, the dirt or the burden. This is where He ministers best . . . amidst the mess . . . deep in the mire.
There is a balm in Gilead.
And it begins with prayer,
the unburdening of our souls at
the end of the day.
The washing and the wiping clean
from the mess.
I finished these last night. I had brought them over in my suitcase in November. It was a kit that I had bought from Pretty Fabrics and Trims in the UK last summer. So happy that I had the forethought to throw them into my suitcase before I left. The start on this year's tree. A whole new tree. I think where I am going to have a kitten/cat I best only have unbreakable stuff on the tree.
Chip was here first thing this morning to have some peanuts, and then this big guy showed up. He looks rather sinister next to Chip.
They have been having aerial battles out there this morning.
Fun and quite fascinating to watch . . . .
Look up top. Its like a crow's nest. He is guarding his domain. Isn't nature wonderful?
A thought to carry with you . . .
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
*When things are turned upside down
or things are taken away from you
there is purpose. You can
find the balm in Gilead.
Look for the great Physician.
The healer of all hurts.•。★★ 。*
Have a wonderful Wednesday! I hope the sun shines and that you have a day filled with peace and joy. Whatever you get up to, don't forget!
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