When you look back at childhood, everything has a magical glow to it. A sweet simplicity that life seems to be missing now. Now there's no Santa, no Easter Bunny, no Tooth Fairy. Now there are bills, and crying kids, and lunches to be made. There are school uniforms to be washed, meals to be planned, laundry to be folded and washed only to have to be washed and folded again... and again... and again.
Where is the magic? The beauty?
After a long day, how do you look around and see everything with a magical glow to it?
How did Martha, when Jesus came to visit, stop the preparations and sit in the magestic presence of her Lord and Savior? She didn't, remember? It was Mary who threw down everything she was doing to simply bask in His presence. It was Martha He rebuked, knowing that her work was needed, but not the most needed thing at that time.
I have heard women say they need to be more like Mary. And that is true. Oh, to be the type of woman who can just throw down everything to sit a moment at her Lord's feet! I am not that woman. I wish I was. But then I take a second look at Martha...
Yeah, she was a little misdirected. But later, when her brother died, who was the first one to run to Jesus and say, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died." To have the faith that instantly knew that her Savior could right whatever had gone wrong...
Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:40).
If you would believe... you would see the glory of God.
So, I sit down cross-legged on a Littlest Pet Shop comforter and curl my arms around her unicorn pillow pet. And I begin to pray.
I pray for that little girl that is not at home tonight - because I will always envision her home as ours, even though she has two homes. I pray that she soaks up His presence.
I pray for that little girl in another country, who probably just got news that she was being sponsored. I pray that she sleeps soundly tonight.
I pray for the man who went to shower before dinner. I pray for his strength.
I pray for myself, curled up on a twin size bed. I pray that I can be everything to these given to me.
And then, I open my eyes to mercy. To grace. I open my eyes to forgiveness. And a roof over our heads. I open my eyes to cornbread cooling on the stove, chicken stew simmering in the crock pot.
I open my eyes. And I believe.
It may not sound like much - but it's a little slice of the glory of God. There's no Tooth Fairy, no Easter Bunny. But there is magic. It lies in the little unspoken mercies of the day, the small whispered blessings. It lies in the arms that hold me when I sleep, the small hands that grasp mine, the Love that cradles my entire exsistence.
Jesus said to her, "Did I not say that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:40).
It is when we believe that we experience the glory of God. Believing is our choice, though.
Did I not tell you?
I believe.
Until next time,
Keep Reflecting :)
