Breathing in peace and joy

I had been listening to a lecture by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay while shuttling my kids from here to there and back again in the car when it happened. I pulled into the driveway, kept the car running while I listened to the very end of the tape, then shut off the radio and turned off the car.

 And there beside my driver's side door were three deer.

They looked at me through the glass, then pranced past the car and into my neighbor's back yard, pausing to graze for a while before taking off into the woods beyond.

I marveled at the wonders of God's creation for a few minutes after which I lost a fight (and a photo) with my cell phone camera and hustled and bustled back into the house with my groceries.

I forgot about this precious moment and later in the day left again to take yet another child to yet another function, class, play rehearsal, or what-have-you. When we pulled back into the driveway...

An owl swooped down in front of us and landed on a tree branch in our back yard.

Okay, by now, I have gotten the message from above that I am way too busy to stop and smell the roses, much less enjoy the life that is bursting with glory all around me. 

I am changing this!

From now on, I am going to take nature breaks. Walks in the woods while reading Thoreau, picnics among the flowers while reading Wordsworth, breaths of fresh air when I only have a minute to spare.

When you think about how God created this world for our pleasure and that "He gives us all things richly to enjoy," it seems a shame not to enjoy it!!!!!

Yours -- with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,

with wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings,

with cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,

with snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,

with silver white winters that melt into springs,

These are a few of my favorite things!

Okay, maybe these are a few of Maria von Trapp's favorite things. I'll tell you about mine later.

What are your favorite things?

Megan Elizabeth