The holy, the consecrated in the everyday

It’s lovely today, this Northern Indiana fall morning.  On my morning drive, I note that the Artist has been hard at work, painting the maples up and down the street with an eloquent brush.

“Look,” I say to Little in his seat, “look at at the trees!”

“They’re turning,” he says to me, this little four-year-old package of joy in jeans.

“Yes, they’re turning.  And Who paints the trees?” I ask him.

“God,” he says simply.  And I write it down in my Thousand Gifts journal, grateful for his budding faith.

This quest of counting blessings, of seeing God’s Hand, is transformational.  Like a caterpillar morphing into a creature of beauty, gratitude transforms the mundane into the holy.   Having the ear tuned and the eye quick to see the “ineffable holiness of small things” is abiding in that Vine.  It’s the connection to the River of Life that nourishes first oneself, and then flows out to the thirsty nearby.

And the gratitude is worship.

Here, today, is my grateful worship:

257.  Feeding eight boys and one leader (a son’s small group) wet burritos and savoring the empty pans.
258.  A yard for the nine to run and play football in.
264. A good hair day.
265. My old, red turtleneck on a chilly fall morning.
268.  Ten loaves of fresh bread.
269.  White chicken chili soup and boys who ask for seconds.
274.  A phone call from College Kid, looking for me and not finding me at church.
277.  A “puppy” who “doesn’t need a spoon” and “doesn’t want to sit on a chair” for breakfast.  (Where do you want your bowl?)  “On the kitchen floor.”  Woof woof.
280.  A little brother’s prayer, “…and bless Jordan at Beffel today…”  (Beffel, of course, is Bethel College)
283.  Going to Dairy Queen after the football game and laughing together.
288.  “You’re beautiful” from a faithful husband.
289.  My job.  (Sometimes, giving thanks is sheer, raw obedience not felt, but offered nonetheless.)
290.  Column day today, a grace I never quite get over.

Today, I am filled with wonder and holy awe at the hand of God in this, an “everyday.”

“Hallowed be Thy name.”