Intricacies of Life

I was walking through a "year round" Christmas store and couldn't help but notice all of the varieties of Christmas villages on display. From afar, they looked nice;  caught my eye, but when I really got up close and saw all of the intricacies of each individual piece, it made the display that much more beautiful and appreciated.

I began to think about our lives and how all too often we look at the BIG picture and we miss the "little" things. Years pass us by and all we can account for is eating, sleeping, and paying the bills  - a life of what appears mundane when you look through it with surface vision. 

Day after day we acknowledge the  existence of people, places, and things but fail to notice their beauty. We grow weary concentrating on what we don't have and miss out on the enjoyment of what is right at our fingertips.  We get so stuck in our routines that we sacrifice relationships both in our homes and beyond the four walls.

Looking at the villages I was also reminded of a couple of verses in Psalm 139. "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it."

When an artist puts detail into his creation: a painting, a sculpture, a writing,  it is placed there for a reason... for the observer to take notice and  to find enjoyment in the beauty and uniqueness of it.

God is the Master Creator, the Master Artist, and He is into detail.  Everything He has ever created is an authentic masterpiece made for not only His pleasure but for ours! Our job is to slow down to find the joy in the NOW.

Let’s stop merely glancing over the big picture of life. Hit the “zoom” button and you’ll discover what a fleeting look will never see.

Begin studying the individuality of your children. Love them BIG right now in both their cuteness and what you may see as annoyances and quirks. Begin noticing the deeper things deposited within your spouse, your family, and your friends rather than year after year maintaining “how's it going?” shallow  relationships where you have no real desire to listen or share in either their joys or their woes.   Quit being satisfied with the pet answer of, "It's going good," and begin to really care about people.   Care about them deeply.  Set aside your selfish, patterned day and allow for interruptions.  In time, it just may dawn on you that they were not interruptions at all.  These were the moments of true living like God intended. 

Seize opportunities to share life together and be an encouragement to one another.  Quit waiting for an "easier" or “more convenient” stage of life to live in the now. Before you know it, the chance you had is over and everything gets pushed off for a future that never comes.

 

 

 

“Slow down and smell the beauty in life.” e