A Few Days Ago

A few days ago, as I passed my dining room window, some movement outside the window caught my attention. Much to my delight and amusement, there were a fawn and its mother on the lawn. Mother was peacefully grazing. Fawn was racing as fast as its little legs could carry it, across the grass and into the field, stopping, doing a spiral leap and turn, and racing back again, past Mom, and on to the other end of the lawn – all at top speed. The fawn continued doing this for several more runs. You could almost see Mom rolling her eyes in exasperation. Finally, she led the kid off into the field and out of sight. I was laughing out loud. Later, as I recalled the sight, I thanked the Lord for having given me such an amusing experience – a precious interval in a busy day.
Next morning, I got up to find a cloudless blue sky – this following a growly thunderstorm and heavy rain the previous night. The birds were singing their various melodies, and the sunlight sparkled off the wet vegetation. I praised the Lord for creating such a beautiful world, recalling my favorite Psalm, number 8.
Upon reflection, one wonders how often, in a world that seems to press in upon us with worries and fears, do we pause to enjoy those brief moments of joy or beauty that come to us? And then express our gratitude to God for them. For those who encounter stress throughout their day it’s hard to feel those moments are anything more than a distraction. For those in pain, or grieving, or frightened those moments can pass by, totally unnoticed. One of the great blessings that our loving Father bestows upon us is those brief moments – when we come, unexpectedly, face to face with a beautiful sight or a source of amusement. A fleeting moment, that relieves tension and brings great joy.
We have so much anger and mental illness in our world today. So many who have rejected God, as well as many who don’t even know there is a God. Somewhere, along the way, we Christians neglected to teach our children about Jesus. We failed to give our children a Bible. We’ve quietly submitted to taking God out of the schoolroom and out of the public places. And so, now we have a new generation, unaware that they can “Cast their cares upon Jesus.” A new generation that never learned to “Count their blessings” as the day goes by.
Life is not all roses. Sometimes it’s downright awful … and complicated. It’s hard to keep a spirit of gratitude some days. Nevertheless, we keep hoping that, coming soon, enough folks will recognize the difficulty of trying to get through their days on their own – alone – that they will realize what – or Who - is missing. We’ll keep hoping for a Revival.
In the meantime, pay attention. God still sends, hidden within our busy days, those moments of beauty or pleasant distractions or even something to make us laugh, Virginia

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Psalm 8:1