Joy in Small Things

Let me always find joy in small things!  The everyday things that might easily have gone unnoticed are special gifts.

I've never noticed birds a great deal, but lately I'm learning how delightful they are.  Last month when we were backpacking there was a very bold red-headed woodpecker who was quite comfortable right out in the open in our campsite.  He kept an eye on us like the guardian of the forest, and we enjoyed his company.

There's a group of birds that congregate in the mornings to bathe in a big puddle that forms at the edge of the grass outside the window where I work.  What a delight when I'm starting my day to stop for a minute and watch them.  To say that they are bathing is an understatement; it looks more like a raucous dance as they change positions and get completely down into the water and shake for all they're worth.

And what a hoot watching the birds in our backyard, oh my goodness!  We hung a new bird feeder closer to the house, which is suspended by a string and able to spin around freely.  It has six little holes and posts for the birds to perch on as they eat, and it's really funny watching them holding on and spinning around like they're on a thrill ride at the fair.  Centrifugal force pushes some off, but they come back for more.  And there's that one determined soul who's sometimes left spinning around and around by himself like king of the hill.  What beautiful and fun moments, and all I had to do for them was stop and notice.

I'm learning to acknowledge small things, and be grateful for them.  I was looking for an important piece of mail recently and realized that it had probably been taken out by mistake with the recycling.  When I went to check there it was, right where the recycling had been, and it had either slipped out of the pile or had been on the bottom.  Little serendipitous things that seem random or like blind luck are gifts from heaven.

There are so many examples of perfect good at work, a much-needed break in traffic when we're late,  a song on the radio with exactly the lyrics we'd been needing to hear, or a stranger getting to the door at just the same time we do and opening it for us, because our arms are full.

I'm remembering to say thank you now when these things happen.  When we are grateful we make room for more good things in our lives, large and small.

May you always notice the grace in small things, and may this tool be a blessing. . .