From Aspen to Alabama--with love

What a week! In the last 7 days I've bounced from Easter in Atlanta (where we were lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents in one place)

to a glorious, heart-filling friend reunion in Aspen that was over a decade in the making.

 Then it was back home for my precious neighbor's surprise birthday lunch

before a road trip to Alabama to help my 89 year old Grandmama with the yard sale to liquidate the contents of her house.

And in between the 'big events' there have been 'ordinary' moments in carpool, bedtime tuck-ins and one-on-one conversations with my growing children.

 

The scenery has been varied and the travel companions have changed but the LIFE I have gotten to experience this week has been abundant. My heart is SO full it feels as if it is literally sloshing joy and peace right out.

 

My primary agenda this week has been relationship. I have been blown away watching the Lord reveal His Hand in these diverse lives and stories. He is, indeed, a tapestry weaver and this week has been full of intricate and varied designs. And while the primary themes in these stories have been redemption, grace and love--it has come in SO MANY forms. I can't help but smile even as I type the sentence.

 

From the friend who introduced me to her long-awaited baby at 40 years old, to the one who finally got her first surprise birthday party at 49 years old.

 

I am reminded that though there is indeed plenty of bitter in this world--there is also a generous supply of sweet.

 

There is beauty in the snow-capped mountains speckled with wild elk in Colorado and the joyful belly laughter of a new Mama enchanted by her long awaited son.  

There is joy in the delighted smiles of grandparents marveling at the little people growing up before their eyes--all because they fell in love so many years ago.

There is peace that passes understanding in the countenance of a great grandmother, excitedly instructing strangers how to use items from her kitchen once they take them home to theirs.

There is goodness around a lunch table full of people expressing their gratefulness for friendship--and so much reward in long talks with my children about grief, philanthropy and how "maybe one day I'll get to be a missionary--just not in China because I don't want to go to jail."

 

These are all glorious glimpses of our God. We just have to pause and focus.

 

Sometimes it feels as if May is more hectic than December--but I pray that God will give me the ability to maintain this late April rhythm--focusing on the people moreso than the lists. Getting my tasks done IN and WITH love. This is the perspective we've been commanded to have--and it makes all the difference.