April 18, 2011
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Outside Your Front Door
I’m going to slip in some pictures of Annamarie’s birthday dinner, March 29th.
(Due to a TOTAL lack of energy, I had to be creative!
I decorated the table with her gifts!)I hope all who are reading this have a good week ahead – getting chores done, but, also, taking the time to enjoy the little things God has created.
(Rissy taught granddaughter JanaLyn how to use her camera!)My youngest sister (Nancy) and I talked, last night, about that very thing – taking time to enjoy things around us. Yesterday morning, we lost our dear cousin to breast cancer. She was diagnosed a year or more before I found out about my own breast cancer. She was so cheerful and always thinking of others, right till the end. Just one of those people who puts off energy and makes things happen – mainly keeping the family together and in touch with each other’s lives.
We knew she had had Hospice services set up, but no one expected her last day to come so quickly. And, that’s what Nancy and I talked about, last night. It’s something I think about everyday. Just because I have breast cancer doesn’t mean I will die from it. I might die from another disease, or I might die due to an accident.
We just don’t know.
As Nancy and I talked, I brought up all the things you can enjoy when you step outside your front door. The many different colors of green in the leaves; the colors of flowers and butterflies, the intricacy of a spider spinning a web – and all of that can be in 1 square foot of space, right outside your front door!
There’s a whole world, out there, that God created, and He made it to be beautiful and to be enjoyed.
The last letter I wrote to my cousin included this Bible verse:
Isaiah 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.
A “span” is a method of measurement, used in Biblical times. A man’s flat hand with spread fingers was a span. “Heaven” is our solar system and all the unknown galaxies.
(Annamarie collects statues of cats.)Now think about it,
GOD HOLDS *ALL* IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND! I can’t imagine His huge-ness!!!! The whole planetary system in the palm of his one hand?!
Wow!Yet, everything has a color, a smell, a texture . . .
I don’t want to forget to notice the handiwork of God. I want to *notice* and *appreciate* the beauty around me, even a square foot outside my front door!
(That night, Luci and JanaLyn were inseparable!)I’m not a good gardener. In fact, I’m a HORRIBLE gardener.
But, despite all of my neglected flower beds, the one outside my front door has a beautiful bush that looks like pine, but has soft, pliable needles. It has various shades of green, as the new spring growth pops out of the ends of the branches. There are tiny little berries on it, that change colors throughout the seasons.
Then, there are the dead leaves under that bush – all slightly different from the other and all in different shades of grays and browns.
And there is fresh air outside my front door, too!
I would encourage everyone reading this to step outside and take a look at all of things you walk by each day and, probably, don’t take time to notice. And, YES . . . . I have dust on my front door and porch lamp! It just adds “texture” to what I see (not to mention a chore I can think about doing “someday”) !!!! LOL !!!!
We should love one another, but I also think we should love (and take notice of) all the beauty in the world that God created. I’m always in a rush to get to the next chore or the next appointment and I need to slow down.
The greatest gift is that I don’t have to search far and wide for God’s beauty and handiwork.
I just have to step outside my front door!
Be Blessed ~
Comments (10)
My heart goes out to your family at this time.
Yes… God has blessed us with so much, He does have us in the palm of His hand. We need to enjoy every second of the day.
Beautiful and wise — you continue to bless others as you go through your own trials with grace and faith. I’m sending you some beauty from out west — hope this link to Monterey Bay works: Monterey Bay http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/media/strm/mba_montereybay.asx
Blessings to you.
@LaurieLH - The link above works, but you’ll have to copy and paste it into your address bar or search bar.
The girls keep getting more and more beautiful everyday! I so agree with you. The only day we have is Today! Blessings and love, Jill
God certainly did make us a beautiful world! Here in Denmark right now there is a big full moon hanging in the sky. I had to get my camera out and take a few pictures of it!
I too notice all those blessings of God that surround us each day. I have one of my MIL art books from college. Inside the cover is an illustration with “Gods hand” spanning the universe…back in the day they included such things in an art history book! Thanks for the encouragement to live and be blessed by each day. Have you read “one thousand gifts” by Ann Voskamp? I bought it because some of the gals on here recommended it. It is very rich and on this same subject.
Praying for God’s comfort for you all. I am glad that you had such a good connection with your cousin.
The birthday party looks like a real treat!
I noticed your girls are looking more & more grown up! Lovely post, I need MANY reminders that there are things with in my own little world that I need to acknowledge and appreciate! I love you! =)
So you celebrated your daughters birthday …. what did you do for yours?
So sorry for the loss of your cousin. What a wonderful table decoration idea–looks beautiful! We should all be reminded to “stop & smell the roses”! God bless!
i really like the 4th picture down.. such a pretty shot of you!
sounds like you had a sweet relationship w/ your cousin – and i’m really sorry for your loss.
love you friend.
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