Simple Things ~ Small and Simple

I'm not gonna lie.  Things have been really hard lately.  Not just for myself, but also for some of my family and close friends.  It would be easy to be filled with fear, regret, and feelings of despair.  I know that I need to completely trust in God and I do trust Him, but I would be lying to you if I said that I didn't sometimes get tempted to doubt.  However, I know that my life is controlled by an amazing, almighty God.  I need to remember that when I can't see His hand, I need to trust His heart.  Recently, I recently read a verse with which I am very familiar:
Romans 8:28 ~ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
As I read this verse that I have memorized, I was reminded that it does not tell us that things will always be "good" in our lives, but that all things work TOGETHER for good...  It's all of the experiences - good and bad, all of the lessons, the heartache, the moments of bliss... All of it TOGETHER.  I am learning that many times, trials in our lives are really blessings in disguise.  It just didn't seem like it at the time.  When I look back on things, I see that it was for the best and I am grateful for the change.


Yesterday, we were able to spend the day with my brother-in-law.  He recently moved to a new apartment and the place was beautiful! It was surrounded by all sorts of trees and had walk ways that ran parallel to little streams that some genius put all over the property.  There were beautiful butterflies, dragonflies and even little fish and crayfish in the water.  We started the morning with a great breakfast of crepes, scrambled eggs and sausage, then we spent the rest of the day at the pool and hot tub.  Later, my brother-in-law made an amazing meal of roast chicken, potatoes, and veggies of all sorts.  We ate out doors by the pool and took our time laughing and talking.  After that, we watched a movie together that we projected onto the wall so it looked like a giant movie screen.  It was a wonderful day.  I enjoyed it all so much, but I still had that underlying worry in the back of my mind.
As we walked back to the apartment, my son started squealing and jumping around because now there were tons of crayfish out where we could see them.  The butterflies and dragonflies seemed to be more abundant than before.  I watched my children squeal in delight over this beautiful scene, and I started to forget about the things that were weighing me down.  I thanked God for giving us this little getaway time to be with family and to enjoy each other. Then I started noticing the really red dragonflies. Very fall-ish! =)  I thanked God for making Himself known to me.  I know that He is with me always, but I'm even more grateful that He cares to show me that the small and simple things can be the best and most important things in life.  Thank you Jesus!
  
^{Psalm 19:1-4
1} The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
   night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
   no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
   their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 


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Come join in the fun! All you need to do is take a photo of a simple thing or a simple moment that made you smile during the week and come back here each Sunday to share it with us!