The Goodness
The early morning light floods our kitchen in the morning. I used to like mornings because our old kitchen was a dungeon and it was the only time of day it felt bright in there, now I love it because we now have this bright new space, and the sun makes it feel radiant. Sometimes I drive past houses that with curtains always closed tight and wonder how they can live there without any light coming in.
I put the sticky bowls from last night’s ice cream in the dishwasher and smiled at the remembrance of our conversation while eating it. We talked about the verse “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” When I asked them how they see that the Lord is good, Winnie said “When I wear a beautiful dress I know that God is good.” Is there any better answer from a five year old little lady?
I haven’t been so great at a routine lately. I welcome a break from monotonous winter days when it begins to warm, and we often spend quite a bit of free time outside. In the summer some of the kids wake with the sun, others take their time and read for a bit upstairs. That makes it hard to find a time in which they are all nearby to do our bible reading and other read aloud books. I realized last night our reading has been sorely abandoned for weeks but last night I just wanted to chat.
It was so good. When life gets busy I easily forget how good these discussions are. They don’t have to be fancy or long, and it’s generally best if we are sitting around the table eating a snack, but connecting with them about the nature of God and hearing what they already know blesses me immensely. They understand so much more about the Lord than I did at their age and I can only pray and hope their passion for Christ increases along with their age.
The deck is sopping wet from another drencher. We’ve had so much rain lately that it’s ruining my outdoor pots because they are sitting in so much water. I need to drill some drain holes near the bottom.
The tomatoes need pruned and staked better. They are growing so fast, and every day I walk around and look at the progress the gardens are making. I’m still waiting for some seeds to come up and I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps they just aren’t going to. There are tiny cucumbers appearing every day and the dill is reaching to the sky. The beans are growing, despite the bugs biting leaves holes in their leaves. Squash and zucchini will be fruiting soon, the volunteer sunflowers are nearing a foot high and the zinnias are finally growing faster than the weeds.
I dislike how quickly summer goes, but I simultaneously find myself wishing that everything was growing faster and I could enjoy both the fruit of my labor and the beauty of the flower seeds I’ve planted. I know it will come fast enough, though, and I try my best to enjoy these early summer moments. The first of the fireflies, the excitement over swimming, and shady, lovely mornings spent on the deck.
It’s so much easier to taste and see that the Lord is good in summer. The daisies are blooming alongside the road, and soon it will be the ditch lilies followed by the goldenrod and asters of late summer. Though there’s not much ready yet I can go out to the garden and literally eat things that grew from tiny seeds. What a miracle that alone is!
God is so good. On the busy days we spend swimming, I see God at work in the fun my children and I are having, a break from regular life. On the quiet days at home, I see God at work in the beautiful life we have created at home. I see God at work in the food I am learning to can, and the flowers I grow, the nights spent watching the kids run through the yard as the sun goes down behind the trees, and the array of colors that only warmth can bring.
God is good.
