Mar 10 - "A Quiet Moment of Gratitude"

Isaiah 55:8-11 -- “ ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.’ ” (a favorite)

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It is easy for us to underestimate the myriad ways God’s blessings come to us. When we stop for a moment and just sit, listen (“Be still and know that I am the Lord”...Psalm 46:10...Grandma Bonnie’s favorite) and take in all that is around us, we see the constant flow of love in our lives and are able to welcome it in.

The picture I always have in my mind when reading this bit of Isaiah is of gently falling snow on a bright Winter day. One of those days, maybe early on a Saturday morning as the sun is just coming up, when all is very quiet and still. This beautiful scene has so many purposes as it is occurring. The snow and the early morning present us with simple beauty as we look up to watch the flakes come down like feathers, dancing and weaving back and forth in their gentle decent. Although the snow will melt away, either that same day or in the weeks to come, it does not disappear. It is transformed into water, seeping into ground to nourish seeds waiting there in slumber, to eventually come forth in the Spring. Multiple blessings from one thing.

The Divine comes to us in many ways. It can be in the form of the beautiful snowy morning, or the power of a summer storm. God can come to us in the words we read or hear or in one of His greatest gifts to us: music.

So, on this quiet morning, instead of offering up to you words and thoughts, I am offering back to you the time you may have taken to read something longer. I encourage you to take this time to sit in silence, closing your eyes, meditating, praying and experiencing Him. Be still, for these moments rarely come. Just be in this moment of gratitude, giving thanks for all He has given, His simple and beautiful gifts which grow into a multitude of blessings.