“Here is a beautiful pinecone, even though it’s a little squished
And that big big dandelion begs to come home with me.
This would be a good stick for swatting ants
And I will take another just in case it breaks.
Here is a pine swishy thing that looks so pretty and feels so soft.
Can you carry some, Mommy?”
Here is a turned-up nose with three freckles on it, tipped toward my face
And here is a child I love.
This is the prettiest day we share, and the wind is soft. I’ll take it along.
I’ll gather the sunshine in one hand
And tuck my pinkie finger around this glorious April, so radiant.
My hands are full, Lord. I want just one more thing.
“Oh look, Mommy, there’s a pond here.
Do you want a violet to eat? I might have to put down some things
But maybe if I just pinch the leaf under my arm
And put the pebble in my pocket, because it has those twinkles in it…
Now I can take a clump of these too, what are they? Bluets?
And still I can hold the sumac.”
I tease her that she might as well take the world. Should we
Scoop up the lake, gather the whole green woods?
Does she want the clear sky and the row of tulips? But I
Am not so different. I want the rich textured trunk where the bark has fallen away
And left the pathways of a thousand hidden things.
I want to fill my hands with the luxuriant smell of the earth.
Here are the eggs my son gathers and lines up for breakfast
And this is a gift baked with love, filled with warm chocolate chips.
I treasure the pucker of a baby’s lip, a leisurely drive with my teen, and
The smile on a growing girl’s face when she did a good job.
I gather one more hug, one morning when we wake up healthy, and
Three more recipes to try. I brush my fingers over his skin.
I want another day in my own home, waking up to the coffee he brewed
I collect my children’s voices, their bickering and jokes around the supper table.
Here is a memory I will keep, and a color that makes meaning of the universe.
I want one more May and the planting of seeds, I ache for the silken end of a ponytail and
A new cup of tea with a friend. I want what I have
A world full of treasures, brimming, too many to carry home.
Thank you Shari for drawing attention to all these small but wonderful things that God blesses us with each day.
I have tried to remember gratefulness this Covid year. But I must confess that I feel a little weary as we in Ontario enter yet another stay at home order.
But I can enjoy daffodils, sticks, pine cones, and good food all at home.
Oh, yes, Shari, let’s gather it all. Thank you for this beauty.
It takes opening our eyes, doesn’t it? Choosing to see what we’ve been given and what is there for us to gather in and enjoy, rather than focusing on all that is broken or not ours. With thanksgiving, Sarah
These words make my heart
Ache
In a good way
I think.
Too many hasty words on my tongue
Too much anxiety in my mind
Too little time spent taking in the glorious
April
With the soft pink weeping cherry trees
And the sunny daffodils
And the blue sky
That sometimes turns white with the clouds.
But I want it to be blue, says a 3 yr old
That I love
With curls and blue eyes like
Blueberries
Who goes dancing on tiptoe
Singing made up songs about lots of stories before naptime
And planting stinky trees with white flowers
And Jesus loves me.
My hands have been hanging down
Like my head
Too afraid to gather it in
Lest I drop some.
Lord, lift my eyes
And my hands
And let me gather it in.
If some slips from my grasp
Then thank you for the blessings so abundant
That I cannot hold them all.
Thank you so much for sharing these words in response. Beautiful!
Love this so much!!! Jenny almost makes me feel like I’ve known you since you were a little gal of 5 years old.
I feel so blessed as I read this
I found something entirely different in these word pictures; curious whether you intentionally put it there. I think maybe so…????
It’s in the phrase, “too many to carry home”
. We scoop and cling and hold and always reach for one more. Treasuring it all is important, but eventually, in the end, we’ll need to lay it all down. As much as we think we need it, we always need to remember that where we’re going, home, it’s all already there.
Sometimes I write about things that I don’t even understand myself. I think I was talking about “abundance” and “overflow”… but also “release” and “inability to hoard”… Your hidden meaning makes me cry. Yes, that is part of it. <3