Mercies Big and Small

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7

This morning, I'm not thinking too many deep thoughts...too little sleep and too many allergens going on! We expect our first freeze tomorrow. Lord, please let it kill all the allergens!

God's big and small mercies are ever-present. He saved me from the consequences of my sin, and now I never have to know separation from Him. He is so good. This is His biggest mercy to us as sinners.

But, we all know that every breath and every hour of the day is filled with small mercies too - just as undeserved as the big ones. Thanksgiving Day the Lord poured out a sweet small mercy on me. In my heart, I'd thought to myself, "You know, the days are coming when it'll be more possible to focus on creating beauty in our home, and not just on getting the food on the table, and have it eaten by mannerly children!" I embrace this stage and look forward to the next. I'm no decorator, but I do happily anticipate teaching my daughters how to set the table daily and keep it pretty with flowers or some other lovely thing. So far, this has just not been a possibility or a priority. It will come.

We had a very slow, laid back Thanksgiving day, just the six of us here at home. The turkey didn't go into the oven till around 1pm, which means we had Thanksgiving Supper instead of lunch - a change for us. At some point, MK wandered outside and then came back with some little flowers, which she then used to decorate a place of celery she'd chopped for me. It was gorgeous, and I never would've thought to do such a thing. Nevermind that no one ate any celery! It looked so cheerful on the table.

 

(I have no idea why this picture won't center, but I give up!)

Later, big sister EG disappeared out front with a pair of scissors, and came back with a handful of daisy stems (they are still blooming!), which she wanted to put in little vases on the table. So we pulled out my random array of colored glass bottles and vases, and she filled about 6 of them with flowers and we put them on the table. After this, MK was further inspired to go pull different leaves off the few plants in our backyard, and arrange them around the vases EG had just put out.

And so, God sent sweet mercy through my dear daughters and I had the beauty I craved at my table. Amazing, He is. And so precious they are...

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! 

Praise Him all creatures here below. 

Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts. 

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen.

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Photos: from when I was a child. Haha! Feels like it was that long ago, and to me, I LOOK like a child in these pictures from Christmas 2001, when I was...let's see...25, I think?

Top: EG, BB and me by his grandma's Christmas tree

2nd: Me opening gifts with baby EG at our little apartment in Alabama. EG was about 9.5 months old

3rd: Okay, until I saw this picture, I had totally forgotten that I was expecting our second child that Christmas. We even bought a couple of tiny presents for the unborn baby we were calling "Ike" (I cannot remember why...all our babies had funny in-utero nicknames). Someone gave us this tiny ornament as a gift for "Ike," who, of course, turned out to be a girl and has a very feminine name!

Last: Just for fun! Those are Rolo candies from my stocking. BB packs a great stocking every time!