“Big love in the small moments.”
“Big magic in the mundane,
Big picture in the small frame,
Everything is sacred when you take time to notice,
Big love happens in the small moments.”
(Big Love, Small Moments, JJHeller.com)
One of our littles went from the pediatrician’s office to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital on Friday. Kent had a PET scan Friday morning. It’s been a rough weekend. Truthfully, with doctor visits, scans, ER visits, and fevers, the past two weeks have been a bad dream. I’ve grabbed the phone every time it even made a sound. The blessing of our faith, family, and friends has gotten us through it all. Once again I’ve been reminded to cherish the “big love in the small moments” of our life.
I have a strong faith in a good God and I know that no matter what life throws at us I can trust Him, He loves us, and we are safe in His arms. But, I’m human. I love my husband, my kids, and my grandkids. I’m mortal enough to want to hold onto them tight. It’s hard to hold them with open hands—I know I have to—but it’s still hard. Tauren Wells is right:
“You’ll never have peace if you don’t let go of tomorrow…
it ain’t faith till your plans fall apart and you still choose to follow…
If it’s not good, then He’s not done.”
(Joy in the Morning, Taurenwells.com)
I know all that. But knowing and believing are two different things.
One of our fellow mom bloggers is walking a difficult road right now with her baby boy. She is showing all of us how to trust God and “Do the next thing.” She is such an encouragement as she lives life transparently, allowing us to watch her and her family walk in faith, allowing us to share the good and the bad, the small moments of joy and the challenges of parenting a sick child. She’s finding the “big love in the small moments” and touching all of us with her faith.
Another family we’ve gotten to know is on the same path. I have been so blessed watching them go through the deep places together, weathering the storm as a family, encouraging each other. They went to a concert on a school night a few weeks ago. She said, “I know we’ll be exhausted tomorrow morning, but we’re going to spend our time living,” Good for them, taking weekend trips, staying involved in life, living. “Big love in the small moments.”
My bucket list isn’t a bunch of exotic places or exciting things I want to do, but anyone who knows me knows I love adventure. I love amazing views and I’ve been blessed to do some pretty awesome things, but the one common factor that made them special was the people I shared them with. Without those sweet faces, good talks, and warm hugs, the adventure would just have been a trip, the incredible view would just have been pretty scenery. What made them special was my people. “Big love in the small moments.”
Life can be so busy, so full of commitments, expectations, projects, and deadlines that I forget to see the miracles in the mundane, to look up from the ketchup on the new shirt to the tearful face above it. Those small arms around my neck, the soft “Grandma, I love you,” the little bag of chocolate covered Washington cherries Kent picked up on his way home from a trip to see our youngest, the picnics in the back yard in the middle of the week, watching the planes take off and land at the airport, leaf races in the gutter out front and splashing in the puddles on a rainy day—that’s the “big love in the small moments” that makes life sweet.
Music is one of my heart languages. All this past weekend and this morning before we went to the doctor’s office to get the results of Kent’s scan, I’ve had my earbuds in, listening, processing it all, the lyrics speaking to my soul. “All my doubts, all my questions, in every fear I have about what might happen, You’re with me in the middle of it all, God. You’re catching every tear as it falls.” (Same God, Hannahkerr.com)
We have a hopeful ending. Our littlest came home smiling after a scary weekend at Children’s Hospital. Kent got the all clear. Both have follow-up appointments and we may still have some uphill ahead, but things could have been so much worse. It was all God. He is always good. All praise to Him.
Life can change in a heartbeat. I will take nothing for granted. And, I want to always be attuned to the
“Big magic in the mundane,
Big picture in the small frame,
Everything is sacred when you take time to notice,
Big love happens in the small moments.”
(Big Love, Small Moments, JJHeller.com)
Thankful and blessed.
Take care and love big.
