Part 1: The Mundane
Part 2: The Messy
The Moment: Beautiful
The Invitation: A Heart of Gratitude...Receiving Good Gifts as Expressions of His Heart Toward Us
The Moment
Every season of life contains moments of beauty. Praise God.... I love how He KNOWS what our hearts need.... that beauty is like medicine, or like a new breath of life straight to our soul. Even seasons that are overwhelmingly messy, or feel mind-numbingly mundane....they are punctuated with moments of beauty... these unexpected kisses from the Father, waiting to just drench our hearts in gratitude... if we're willing to keep our eyes open.
And in these splashes of beauty, the Father waits to encounter us, whispering His delight over us.
And in these splashes of beauty, the Father waits to encounter us, whispering His delight over us.
The Invitation
I say it often because I absolutely love this about our God: His nature is revelation; His desire is to be discovered, to make His heart known to His friends. (The Lord confides in those who fear Him - Psalm 25:14)
Why then does He not (often) show up in bodily form or speak so we can hear Him with our ears? Here's my answer: He hides, not because He wants to keep His heart from us, but so that we can have the joy of discovery.... He's like a good Father playing hide-n-seek with His kids... or hiding Easter eggs so that His children can experience the thrill of the search and the discovery of the treasure.
He WANTS to be found.... And one of the key places that we can find Him if we're looking, is in these splashes of beauty that punctuate our lives.
He invites us to live with hearts that are awake and alive to see Him in all that surrounds us... from sunsets and slobbery toddler kisses to cool fall days and late-night heart-conversations with dear friends.....and to trace every good gift back to Him.
Because in receiving these splashes of beauty, we can either "worship" the gifts by prioritizing them above our relationship with our Father, subtly beginning to view the gift as our source, OR, we can acknowledge Him as our ultimate source, receive His gifts as an expression of His Father-heart that LOVES to give good gifts to us, and allow our hearts to be filled with gratitude.
And in all of His gift-giving, in each splash of beauty from His extravagant heart, He is after relationship. His good gifts are expressions of His pursuit of our heart.
Why then does He not (often) show up in bodily form or speak so we can hear Him with our ears? Here's my answer: He hides, not because He wants to keep His heart from us, but so that we can have the joy of discovery.... He's like a good Father playing hide-n-seek with His kids... or hiding Easter eggs so that His children can experience the thrill of the search and the discovery of the treasure.
He WANTS to be found.... And one of the key places that we can find Him if we're looking, is in these splashes of beauty that punctuate our lives.
He invites us to live with hearts that are awake and alive to see Him in all that surrounds us... from sunsets and slobbery toddler kisses to cool fall days and late-night heart-conversations with dear friends.....and to trace every good gift back to Him.
Because in receiving these splashes of beauty, we can either "worship" the gifts by prioritizing them above our relationship with our Father, subtly beginning to view the gift as our source, OR, we can acknowledge Him as our ultimate source, receive His gifts as an expression of His Father-heart that LOVES to give good gifts to us, and allow our hearts to be filled with gratitude.
And in all of His gift-giving, in each splash of beauty from His extravagant heart, He is after relationship. His good gifts are expressions of His pursuit of our heart.
Proverbs 25:2 - It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
Let's do this together...list our splashes of beauty in which He waits to reveal His heart....
Here's my list (or the beginning of it anyway), in no particular order:
My son's voice calling me "Mommy."
Our back deck on a cool evening
My husband's adoring glances
Listening to Stan and Isaac play wild
Heart-to-heart chats with dear friends
Chocolate mousse
Game nights
Quiet moments with Jesus during Isaac's naptimes
Iced coffee
Fall weather and leaves
Candles...
Candles...
Your turn! Share part of your list with us in the comment section! One of the best ways
to cultivate a heart of gratitude is to share the gifts.....
