My Three Favorite Words

I had the best night's sleep the other night - those of you who have children who have left home will understand what I mean when I tell you that there's nothing like that moment you fall asleep knowing that all your children are under one roof and, for that moment, safe and sound.

It's one of those times when I take a mental snapshot - how wonderful it feels to know that everyone is together. It doesn't last long, of course. It seems the next day they're gone in a whirlwind of hanging clothes, luggage, and plastic bags of everything that wouldn't fit in - leaving behind dirty sheets and smudged fingerprints, a lone bottle of shampoo, and someone's toothbrush.

I usually hate cleaning my house - but after the kids leave I actually enjoy it because each mess left behind is a reminder of the wonderful time we had when they were here. So as I vacuum up the dirt and re-make the beds I pour out my gratitude to the Lord. (I don't miss the irony in that all the little things that used to bug me - like tracking in dirt and leaving their belongings all over the house - have become a joy to me now that I have a different perspective!) If I were offered the choice between an empty, clean house or one filled with noise, chaos and the people I love, I would choose the latter every time.

We just enjoy being with one another. I think one reason for that is living apart from each other (it used to be 16 hours but is now more like 4 1/2 and 3 1/2 so I try not to complain!) It's always a little sad when our time together ends, but this week I had some surprises that helped me through the goodbyes.

While cleaning this week I began to find notes all over my house - tucked into picture frames, drawers, the medicine cabinet, our lap top. Every time I thought that was all of them I'd find another one in some unsuspecting hiding place. And I've left them there.

They are so much fun to read all over again and relive their visit but I wondered how long they would continue to be wonderful surprises and messages that touched my heart because they were from my children. Would I eventually ignore them or take them for granted? It struck me then that God's Word is full of wonderful messages to me, too. Do I read it fresh with wonder and excitement? Embracing His love for me and reminding myself of all He has promised? Or do I take it for granted - you know, skipping over familiar verses with carelessness? I want to read it fresh everyday. I want to absorb all that God has for me in each message I find there.

Like reading my children's notes I want to read God's Word and savor the knowledge of the love it contains. You can find the most marvelous gems in every book of the Bible!

And my children's messages? They were wonderful as well - things like 'thanks for taking care of us while we were home' and 'sorry for trashing your house', and 'thanks for letting us all stay together'. They included those three wonderful words 'we love you' and 'we miss you'. I loved the message that read 'can't wait to give you more grandbabies' - but I think my favorite was the one that said we were 'such amazing parents!'

I think they're finally getting what I tried to teach them all along!

All for Him,

Missy