Little Gifts

Sometimes in life we make pleas to God, perhaps concerning the health of a loved one or to get us out of a bad situation. At other times we make requests that are not so desperate, but still very significant, maybe to get that new job or to sell the house. And then there are times when we don't even ask for something, but God sends us little gifts because he knows what brings us joy.

Yesterday I had the camera out and was taking pictures of Benjamin and Osa in the backyard, just enjoying the warm weather and sunshine with my boy and the dog. As we came back into the house I thought it would be fun to see some deer so that I could try to get another picture. Within the hour, there were four deer in the back, so I snatched up my camera and took this picture.

A little while later, I was sending my folks an email of a sweet little picture I had taken of a sparrow. In the message I wrote how I'd like to be able to spot a cardinal and get a picture of that. Again, within just about an hour I heard a cardinal calling in the neighbors yard. I grabbed the camera and captured the little beauty.

The pictures may not be the greatest, but that's not the point. The point is that God knew the desires of my heart and cared enough about them to give me the gift of the simple joy of seeing some deer and a cardinal. He knew what was on my heart before I had even spoken a word about it and He showed His love for me in these simple gifts. The Bible tells us the God cares for all of His creation even down to the smallest sparrow. If He provides for and takes care of a little bird, how much more will he provide and care for us? God shows us His love in big and small ways, we just need to take notice of it.

Hello park!

Benjamin has recently discovered the joys of being outside without the confines of a carseat and a carseat cover. He loves the grass and swings. We're avoiding sand for a little bit longer...I already do enough laundry as it is. There is a small park just a little more than a block from our house that I think we will be frequenting. Just hoping it won't snow again until November.

"Get in another line."

"Ten items or less, right?" These are the first of the very few words spoken to me by the cashier at Target today. No hello, how are you, did you find everything okay? I hadn't counted my items which apparently makes me a reckless customer, but it seemed like I only had about 10 items. To be perfectly honest I was a little preoccupied with the baby on my hip and I went to her line without checking because there was NOBODY around. She was just standing there with nobody in her line. Nobody walking toward her line. Nobody withing 20 feet of her line. Nobody. But apparently my two extra items were enough to push her over the edge and to warrent one of the most unfriendly transactions I have ever experienced. I did get a "thank you", but it felt more like a "thank you, but don't even think pulling a stunt like this again" if you know what I mean. It reminded me of that scene in "You've Got Mail" where Meg Ryan doesn't have any cash for the "cash only" line, only Tom Hanks didn't come to rescue me by charming the cashier. The whole experience was slightly uncomfortable, but highly comical. So thanks to the grouchy cashier for making my day more colorful and giving me a good chuckle.