Gratitude Day 312

Sat., Aug. 3, 2019

1 Peter 2:2 – As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can mature in your salvation,

We had a neighborhood gathering at our house last night. About 25 of our neighbors meandered over to our house for a wonderful night. It was potluck. One neighbor provided the meat and buns. We provided calico beans (my Dad’s favorite) and a location. The weather was ideal. We had people sitting inside the house and most enjoyed the wrap-around porch. Eventually, many wondered outdoors, and we enjoyed a near-perfect summer night in Wisconsin.

I had such good intentions. I wanted to snap a few pictures of our evening together.

It didn’t happen.

The only photos I have are of these flowers that I used to make little arrangements for the tables. I wanted a little something to dress up the tables.  Something simple and easy but yet nice.

So, I did the simplest thing I could think of. I cut flowers out from the road ditches and put them into little Mason jar for table arrangements. Super cute and so simple. I did the whole project in about 20 minutes, including picking the flowers from the road ditches.

The flowers can be a metaphor for our lives. Too often, we want to make things complicated. A big deal. Overwhelming. Maybe, God calls us to be simple. Nothing flashing. Nothing overwhelming. Nothing difficult. Just who we are.

Life gets full. Life can be too complicated. Sometimes, we just need to gather over a burger and a brat and share our lives with each other. Nothing complicated. Nothing flashy. Just who we are.

Too often when we find ourselves in the midst of a challenging situation, we get bent out of shape. We worry and develop anxiety. We don’t know what to do.

Actually, we do know what to do. Think of the simplest next step you can take. It doesn’t have to be very big. Just one little thing you can do to remedy the situation.

Then, do it.

Just this one little step. See what happens. Hopefully it won’t require tremendous work or schedule reorganization. In fact, it shouldn’t. Because this is just one small step.

Then, step back. Look. Listen. Breathe. You did it. You did one small step.

Maybe that is enough for today.

For lessons in simplicity that never grow old , I am grateful.

Lord God – Sometimes, we keep looking at the forest and we forget to see the individual trees. Help us see the individual trees of life: the simplest of things that truly make a different. Help us be agents of simple. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

If you have enjoyed this blog, please pass it along to someone else who will also enjoy it.