The Little Things
A few days ago, the regular hum of our household was in full effect. Scott was bathing Gianna, the boys were upstairs arguing over who was going to take the first shower and the girls were giggling in their room.
Me? I was washing dishes. I do it every night. And not a single kid bothers me because they know if they walk into the kitchen I’ll put them to work.
As I stood there, with my fancy pink gloves in the familiar bubbly hot water, I heard it.
It has been so long.
God’s voice was as clear as a bell. I was reflecting on the beautiful simplicity of the moment – the life that was buzzing around me – and I told Him how grateful I was to be in this house, with these people, at this moment.
And He smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”
It’s just been so long since I’ve prayed and felt like God heard. It was one of my most difficult springtimes. My grandfather died unexpectedly – the one we thought had many more years with us – and then the devastating blow of some hard news from people we love. While I prayed my way through those really, really hard days, I guess I had just lost my passion to pray with sincerity as the months turned to summer, then fall. Thanksgiving and the weeks following left our house sick with a myriad of strep, UTIs and stomach bugs. Then, I had six benign tumors removed. Yes, good times all around.
But, perhaps I needed to be knocked out during the holiest time of the year to be reminded of the little things. For it’s always the smallest stuff that shines God’s great big love isn’t it?
The unexpected phone call from a friend.
The husband who fills up your van with gas without telling you.
The child who whispers, “Mommy, I love you,” in your ear.
The toddler who snuggles in close and falls asleep on your chest.
The neighbor who brings you a beer and a hug because she knows you need it.
The teenager who winks and tells you dinner was awesome.
The Dominican Sister who emails out of the blue just to tell you to have a great day.
God is in all of those and millions of other places. My head knows that but it has been so long since my heart felt it.
As I placed that last dish on the drying rack, I bowed my head and decided the pity party of 2017 was officially over. 2018 has so much possibility ahead. It has sorrow and joy, it has disappointment and elation. It’s time to see the God all around me, instead of the Devil inside. I know which one wins in the end.
A wise friend recently reminded me, “We have to try harder, Kathryn. God is waiting on us to show his great mercy and love.” 2018, let’s get to it.
Isn’t that just like God, He’s so big in those little moments! That’s when you know that you know it’s really Him and it gives you the strength to keep moving forward in the monotony of life. So awesome, thanks for sharing!
Please tell me you do sleep? Seriously that was a great message.
God bless you! I want to be as wise as you when I grow up! 💖💖
What a GREAT post, Kathryn! This really made me think! You are AMAZING! Hugs from Iowa State!
I absolutely LOVE this post. It brought tears to my eyes – in a good way.
As I was getting ready for work today, I was reflecting on our family evening last night. Too many places to be, so we nixed one, so it felt better. Then it’s the chaos of making dinner, getting to homework, and the other carpool shuffle. We were up entirely too late, as a couple of late night texts from my family about some serious health issues came in… then there’s the dog and her issues. But just before we went to sleep, my husband and I sat for a few minutes watching a little TV. He got that little smirk he gets just before he laughs. The one I dearly love and always gets me to smile too. Yes – it’s in those little moments. Those are the absolute best. And this morning with the hair dryer in hand, I was thankful.
This post… I so appreciate the reminder to be thankful in those times.
Love, Love, Love this. I really needed that reminder right now. Thank you!
I love this! This is exactly why I’ve started writing my thanksgivings down in a weekly blog post. I want to thank God for every little thing and I want to remember them all and hopefully one day I will hear his voice so clearly.
Amen, sister!
I loved this post! I often find myself feeling these little bouts of gratitude and wanting to savor that feeling in the midst of bath time, dinner prep, my own moments before I drift off to sleep, when I check on my 5 kids and they are all asleep and I listen ever so carefully at all of them breathing, that rainstorm that caught us off guard and felt like it was a fresh start to a yucky day or washing away any bad feelings engulfing our home, etc.
All of our family prayers begin with a prayer of Thanksgiving. I am trying to teach my kids to find gratitude in every situation, even when it’s difficult.
My mom used to call these moments “A little bit of heaven…” and as a mother of 9 children, she knew that those little snippets of happy, peaceful, serene moments were, to her, a little bit of heaven..
(AKA “God’s voice”:)