Savor & Give Thanks

The warmth of summer is fading, but thankfully it is a slow fade. Summer clings on to its last few weeks as if it knows it is leaving, and it wants to leave a pleasant impression. The weather hovers in the eighties here, and it is absolutely perfect. Days like this make me want to soak it all in and hold on tight, because I know that in just a few short months we will be decked out in our layers and indulging in hot cocoa instead of lemonade. I love autumn, but for whatever reason this year summer is making it hard to let go.

Perhaps it is because I feel as if I am just getting into the rhythm of being lost in the moments, and I'm not ready for it to end. The laughter of children splashing in a creek and making friends with the ducks is magical. There isn't much that compares to the genuine shriek of delight from a young child. What I am finding in myself is a longing to be fully immersed in these moments. I want to breathe them in and let them fill me up with the magic and delight that my children seem to find so easily. I want to savor.

Each day holds so much to delight in, if we but see. When our hearts' default setting is thankfulness, the blessings that surround are absolutely overwhelming. It is when we get caught up in the schedules and the disappointments and all the things we don't have that our vision becomes dull and lifeless. I have this theory that the more we tune our hearts to thankfulness, the more we see our world with the eyes of Jesus. I want to see this world with my Savior's eyes, don't you? The colors are so much brighter when we live awake to the beauty and blessings around us.

When you eat too many carrots, your skin takes on an orangish hue. It's called carotenemia (I know it sounds like I just made that up. Google it, it's legit.) Anyway, it makes me smile when I think of this weird condition because I can't help but think that if I ever meet somebody with orange skin I will know that they have a major obsession with carrots (or pumpkin or whatever). They won't be able to hide their obsession. I want my gratitude and joy to show like that. I want to be colored with it...so that when people interact with me there is no question that I am filled-up with thanksgiving. I want there to be no question that I am filled-up with Jesus.

May we be a people who overflow with color and warmth and joy. May we be a people who are wholly swallowed up in the delight and kindness and mercy and love of our God. May we teach our hearts (and the hearts of our children) the language of gratitude, and practice it until it becomes a language we know so well we dream in it.

Blessings to you this day. May you delight in Him!