Shady Spots

It was fairly warm today.  Not true summertime hot, but warm enough that I was sweating in the sun when I took my walk this afternoon.  Every time I hit some cool shade, though, I reveled in it.  Wow!  What a difference!  I thanked God for the beautiful tall trees that give us that cooling relief.  And I found Him there today, in the shady spots along my walk.

Customer Service Guy

We've all had awful experiences with customer service over the phone - being put on hold forever, being transferred over and over again.  Well today looked like it was going to be one of those experiences.  I got a quote for a windshield repair for my car - that all went fine.  Then I had to call back because Jeff just got a major crack in his windshield so I figured we'd get them both done at once.  That phone call took quite a while but I got a decent quote and asked them to send me an email confirmation.  The email quote was much higher... so I had to call back.  I got put on hold "because all of our agents are busy assisting other customers".  I waited a while, finally got someone on the phone who started out telling me I was wrong, then I got put on hold again while they checked things out.  She finally came back and said someone would have to call me back.   I waited almost two hours with no call back so I called again.  This time I got Kevin from Ohio.  He immediately tried to make sense of my dilemma and worked to get my quote corrected.  When he told me he'd have to call me back, I had my doubts.  But he called back within 15 minutes and had everything straightened out.  I still ended up paying a few dollars more than my original quote but at this point I didn't care.  I just wanted it done.  Kevin couldn't have been more pleasant or helpful.  It's nice to know that good customer service isn't completely dead - you just have to get lucky enough to get someone who cares on the phone.  That is where I found God today - in a customer service guy who actually cared.

Soothing Rain

Crazy, stressful day.  There's a lot going on and to top it off, Jeff and I found out that between the two of us we need over $2,000.00 in car repairs.  There are some days when it's just too much; when it's all just too overwhelming.  I came home, sat down, and looked out our back door just as a massive downpour started... and it soothed me.  It was as if the heavens were crying for me and cleansing my spirit all at the same time.  It was raining so hard that everything outside was blurred - I could barely see the house across the pond.  It reminded me again of God's power, and His timing.  It reminded me that He will get us through this, and He will comfort us along the way.  I saw that in the downpour of soothing rain, and that is where I found Him today.

Burt's Bees Lotion

I've mentioned before in my blog that my skin is super-sensitive.  It wasn't always this way.  It just developed in the past few years.  It's mostly my hands and forearms for some reason, and my doctors don't have any answers for me.  When it first started, I didn't have a clue what was causing it.  My hands were so bad that I developed tiny blisters between my fingers.  Through internet research, an allergist (I'm not allergic to anything), a dermatologist, and my family doctor, I figured out some treatments to get relief.  One was antihistamines, two was the gluten and dairy free diet that I've talked about so much, and three was something I figured out on my own - my Burt's Bees lotion.  It soothed my skin more than anything the doctors recommended; I think because it's almost all natural.  At this point, as long as I apply it several times a day, I'm pretty much okay.  I was busy today, and when my hands started to burn, I realized I'd washed them several times without using my lotion.  So I sat down and smoothed on a large dollop of my Burt's Bees.  Ahhh... relief!  Hand lotion may seem like a small thing, but for me, this one in particular is a blessing from God.  I honestly don't know what I would do without it.  I thanked Him for leading me to it, and I found Him in the soothing relief I got from it today.

Listening for God

During Father Tom's sermon today, he spoke of events leading up to his becoming a parish priest.  He talked of slowing down enough to hear the voice of God.  And he ended his sermon with, "Are you listening to the wind? Are you slowing down enough to feel the breath of God kiss you?  What is the Spirit saying?"  Then he sat and left us in silence for a few minutes.  At first, there was a little rustling about.  Then it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  I bowed my head and prayed... and listened.  It was as if I could feel the power of our collective hearts going out to God.  I was grateful for those moments of silence.  I was grateful for Father Tom's wisdom in giving us those moments rather than moving right along with the service.  I take time outside of church to listen for God, but Father Tom was right - I don't take enough time inside of church to listen.  And that just doesn't make sense.  That is the purpose of church - God with us.  God was with me today.  I found Him in the resounding silence inside of our church.

Early Morning Light

The quality of the light this morning was gorgeous.  As it filtered through the trees, it made the leaves glow.  The intense colors along with the perfect temperature and cool breeze made for a beautiful morning walk.  There are some days when my senses are just filled to overflowing, and today was one of them.  I feel like there's so much to see, feel, and hear that I can't take it all in.  But if I had to pick one place to find God in this beautiful morning, I would have to say it was in the awesome colors of the early morning light.

Our Dinner Table

We were all busy doing our own things today, but tonight we sat down to dinner together.  We do this almost every day, but today stood out for some reason.  Maybe it was the food - we had fresh salad with shrimp.  Maybe it's because it's the start of the holiday weekend.  I don't really know.  I just know I was happy and thankful that we were together and sharing a meal; laughing and talking about our day.  Simple joys make life sweet.  I found God today around our dinner table.