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Dear Friends,
I’m at my writing desk, the one that looks out towards the town park. Leaves from our maple trees dance before me. A few kids at the park are barreling down the slide and others are pumping their legs on the swing. A robin hops on the grass. My house is quiet (for the moment). My two kids, Charlotte and Isaac, left with their dad on an errand. We’re all tired and energized from the first night of Vacation Bible School. Plus last week the kids spent five days at an arts camp. On the stove I’m simmering a sauce made of heirloom tomatoes from our garden. The turn of the calendar brought cheers from Charlotte for the start of 2nd grade on the 22nd. The rest of the month is filled with birthdays at the pool and the park, camping, church, work meetings, and a looming book deadline.
But if I look beyond those calendar squares, I glimpse more than just parties and places to be. I see a life made of waking in the morning to feet running down the hall, picking fresh blackberries from our yard and piling them on our cereal, Bible stories read at the table over a meal, dishes left in the sink, laundry to be folded, paints, crayons, and markers colored on paper, requests for snacks, playdates with friends, text messages of encouragement, journals filled with words, bubbles floating through the air. In a word, I see love. I see our life full of ordinary moments laced with extraordinary grace.
The summer season is short, and as the days grow closer to back-to-school, I’m focusing on ordinary miracles. This practice doesn't make the days slow down, but it does help me pay attention to what’s right before me. In no particular order, here are a few of the ordinary miracles from this summer:
The kids reading on the couch by themselves
Making homemade blackberry lemonade
Belly flops and canon balls at the pool
Friends who care, play, and love my children
Twist ice cream cones and chocolate marshmallow shakes
Hummingbirds at the feeder
The first red tomato
Cucumber vines clinging to a trellis
Hot coffee on the front porch
Pen and paper
Wet bathing suits and towels hanging in the bathroom
Sunflowers leaning towards the light
Used up sunscreen bottles
Meals on the front porch
Snack dinners
Wrinkled feet and hands after an afternoon at the pool
The first page of a new book
The last page of a satisfying read
Library holds arriving
Trips to the blueberry field
The turning of the calendar
A summer birthday
Knowing the days are filled with holiness and love
Moments rooted in the here and now
Nestled in God’s grace
Now and forever.
How about you? What ordinary miracles are you witnessing? Hit reply, I’d love to celebrate them with you!
With gratitude,
Kim
Book Update: I have less than a month until the manuscript is due! We have a cover (!) and a title (!) In the upcoming months I’m excited to share more with you! The writing of these devotions has been a gift - a time to remember and give thanks for all the ways God is working in my life. And a chance to share that grace with others. It feels like all my living and parenting and loving is being poured into this motherhood devotional. I’m grateful for the chance to share my words with you, and the hope that God sees us all in the holy work of raising our children. Thank you for joining me on this journey! If you know others who would appreciate my words, sharing my writing with them is a great gift. Forward them this email and have them subscribe, or send them to my blog where they can read past writings of mine.
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