When Life Gives You Little Things, Embrace Them

Tears well up more readily for me these days. I know it’s in large part because the hormones of motherhood are swelling just as much as my abdomen on this home stretch of pregnancy.

Yet some of the tenderness, joy, and emotion that washes over me in recent days comes from a deeper source. It resonates with me in various people and circumstances I observe and my eyes become misty, my heart overflowing with gratitude to the Giver of blessings.

It’s usually in the little things that I find the pictures of God’s grace raining down on me. As I’ve mentioned before, I was not satisfied with where I stood in my heart of hearts when it came to gratitude during last Thanksgiving’s season. The little things were there, and I remember appreciating them, but the dark times and struggles that my family and I were working through kept overwhelming me. It’s not that life is easy and flawless now, but I do believe that the little things seem brighter because the darker times are still fresh enough for me to remember where we have been. Gratitude comes more naturally because I can testify that God faithfully saw us through our trials.

My little things this week or so have included:

Our own wacky version of Candy Land on one of the nights Daddy was working.

Celebrating the life of this daughter that wasn’t even on my radar a year ago with precious family and friends.

My mom’s delicious and special Thanksgiving pies.

That incredible gift of being able to watch grandparents and grandchildren love and enjoy each other, wishing you could freeze those special little moments to make them last forever.

That rare occurrence when a certain three year old who’s not much for cuddling when he’s sleeping falls asleep on my arm just a few minutes after adamantly proclaiming he was not at all tired.

Not literally pictured yet forever etched in my memory are the other things that emulate God alive and working in my life and those around me.

• Late night talks about faith, theology, and parenting with my husband.
• The elderly man who feebly went into the water during baptism yet came out visibly energized, raising his hand in joy and gratitude to praise the One who made his old life new and complete. Sin has been defeated and God is alive and powerful!
• The contractions and movements that remind me a life is continuing to prepare itself for entry into this world and my family.
• Listening to my son proclaim God’s Word as we work on his memory verses.

Yes, God has been faithful through some difficult growing experiences over the course of the last year. I love Him far more than I did a year ago, and it’s because of His faithfulness when we couldn’t figure out left from right, right from wrong, and healthy from unhealthy. It’s because of the little glimpses of purpose and joy He brings in the midst of long days. It’s because of so much more than I could begin to list, but He deserves to be acknowledged for even these few ways He’s made Himself known in my life.

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