Gratitude Friday...

Another week, another exhausted momma.  

In my efforts to sit in things as is this year AND combined with almost zero reason to have my head buried in my phone whenever there's a free moment, I am finding myself enjoying the tiniest of moments.  

Time is slipping away.  My little people are almost not little anymore.  

Each morning this week, Aubrey Kate has grown just a bit more brave.  She pauses a smidge less.  She holds the hug a second shorter.  And I'm watching her face glow with equally increasing amounts of confidence.  

This morning, she stared out at the looming steps, gave me a kiss and headed off.  Then she turned around and came back... "Just one more hug, Momma!"

Thank you, Lord.  

Both for her ever-growing big-girl brave heart and for her sweet, little baby heart that wants to give her Momma just one more hug.

Last night, I slept horribly.  Largely because I got a glorious idea about AK's birthday party and I had a hard time letting it go.  Putting it to bed, so to speak.  Instead, I tossed and turned planning a party that is four months away.

Because I'm crazy.

But since I wasn't deep sleeping, I just rolled out of bed not long after Chris got up.  I tried to wait until after 6 am.  I feel like that's the human thing to do.  But it was still earlier than usual.  Much.

Rhys is on his early-bird waking cycle.  He sort of goes through a week or more of either getting up super early or sleeping in until I have to wake him up.  The last two days, he's been getting up crazy early.  

So the sun found both Rhys and I sitting together on the couch this morning.  

He was snuggled up next to me, drinking his milk and all I could think was how absolutely blissful his morning snugly smell is.  To me, he still smells like a baby.  He's not.  But in those wee hours, before the sun is fully awake, he smells like he just got here from heaven.  

Thank you, Lord, for this precious boy.  From the top of his crazy, white, bed-head hair to the bottom of his enormous, growing bigger by the minute feet.  

Yesterday afternoon, both of our miracles climbed into my lap, surprising me that they both can still fit.  They were just talking and reading books and squirming for more room.  There wasn't any.  In the middle of the giggling, the tears came and I was incredibly humbled.  

Thank you, Lord, for all those moments.  Moments I forget to say Thank You for.  I am grateful.  

On our way to school one morning this week, I got a text message from a dear friend.  She was asking for prayers for a friend of hers and she needed those prayers immediately.  I turned down the radio and asked the kids to pray with me for her.  And we did.  

That night, Aubrey Kate prayed for that friend all by herself.

Lord, thank you for allowing us the privilege of coming to you in prayer for others.  

There was no miracle of our friend that day.  At least not the one we were praying for.  

Although, I witnessed a miracle in my precious daughter when she prayed for this person she had never met and had only heard me mention once.  

I thought about my friend's message of "no miracle today" the rest of that day and this week.  My heart couldn't shake the feeling that miracles happen, even if they're not what we were hoping or praying for.

There were miracles that day.  All day.  God kept sending me these messages.  Miracles did happen.

Maybe the miracle was hundreds, possibly thousands of prayers flooding God's throne.  

Maybe the miracle is sharing those burdens and growing just a bit of the kingdom in the hearts of those around us.  

Maybe the miracle is teaching our children, by our own actions, how much we value those our Father places in our lives and how much we believe they are worth of heart's crying out to Him on their behalf.  They groan and the Spirit takes those to God.  We speak and join in agreement with those groans.  

Thank you, Lord.

Isn't that true, too, of a grateful heart?  It's not about the big moments.  We're all easily able to find the gratitude for shelter, food, water, clothing.  Getting a front row parking spot.  The rain stopping just as we need to walk the kids in school.  The pair of shoes we want being on sale.

But.

Do we find it in the small moments?  In the moments when we aren't getting exactly what we were hoping to find?  

I can't say I've been doing a good job of that lately.  Largely, because I've been too outwardly focused instead of listening to the whispers of my Father.  The world has been too loud.  Too busy.  Too filled with To Do Lists.  For someone who does genuinely believe (and has been transformed) by a life rooted in thankfulness, it is still hard.  Impossible really.  Unless my heart is turned to Him, all my efforts are useless.  

So in this week when the smaller moments, even the hard moments, are starting to come into focus through God's gratitude glasses, I can say I am simply grateful for THAT.  For the heart shift.  For having the distractions removed from my view.  

That was the miracle for me this week.  

Thank you for helping me hear Your whisper in the tiniest of moments.  To be reminded of Your presence is humbling.  Thank you for another miracle of gratitude.