When
I finally got going Saturday morning, my heart was singing. Every little thing produced joy. The pale green budding leaves on the
trees. The sunshine. The sight of outdoor clearance racks at
Walmart. The availability of
disinfectant wipes for the shopping cart handle. You get the idea.
Sometimes
the Holy Spirit does stuff like that:
suffuse one’s being with joy over every little thing. I like it when that happens. I think I will call those times glory
gifts. They are glimpses of heavenly
joy, packaged in the present.
My
evening was filled with even more glory gifts with an end-of-cancer treatment celebration
at my daughter’s house. Friend Joan came
bearing gifts of tulips and a helium-filled Mylar “Celebrate!” balloon, which
had a very short life due to an encounter with the ceiling fan. Joelle enjoyed playing with the balloon
before it popped, and after it popped, Josiah dragged it around the living
room. When we ate supper, Benjamin
celebrated: he loves having company over
at mealtime.
After
those delicious hamburgers and homemade fries, we moved back to the living room
where Dana and Shawn gave me a lovely present:
the Willow Tree Remembrance angel and the Sarah Young devotional, Jesus Lives. Sleepy Benjamin retreated to his room; Joelle
and Josiah ran and danced about as Dana sang and played her guitar. During one lively worship song, Josiah ran
about in circles, flinging one arm up in the air, his face alight with
delight. Afterwards, Joan bid us all
adieu and left for home before dark.
Still
later, we enjoyed some ice cream and after the kids were all in bed, Shawn and
Dana prayed for me. What an evening of
food, fellowship, and worship!
Thus
begins a new season of life, full of possibilities. Rest, recover, and renew are the words I
think of to describe this time. The Holy
Spirit will lead the way on what unfolds over the next months. I promise to be faithful to whatever avenues
of ministry and service He opens. And I plan
to celebrate all the glory gifts along the way.
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