Enjoy the simple things

 

The setting sun

One of the things I have been noticing lately are the encouraging words of enjoying the simple things in life.  These are simple words but convey a wealth of meaning.  Life is often busy and as a result we often overlook the simple things, the beauty around us and the joy that we can find in the ordinary.

This evening I was pestered by my two furry beasts to go for a walk.

  

 It is pretty much a daily event once it cools down (28 C is too hot for these guys but the evening is much nicer). So about 8pm the runners go on and we are off.  With the reminder to enjoy the simple things  the walk was pleasant and pleasurable.  We saw bunnies zipping along, geese marching off like little soldiers, ducks paddling, lots of other people and pets walking.  We avoided water sprinklers, much to Gandalf's dismay and Copper's delight.  The setting sun was also spectacular.   The prairies never disappoint when it come to a spectacular sunset with the endless sky and flatter than flat plains. With the setting sun and a drop of  three degrees in the temperature we had a lovely walk in the area and enjoyed the scenery.

Today at church the reading was familiar, the feeding of the five thousand.  Rather than focus on the miracle of the abundance I focused on the interruption of the private time that Jesus was seeking and how in the interruptions the ministry of presence and listening is experienced as well as moments of grace, blessing and opportunity.  Busy lives mean we often do not like to be interrupted and want  to stick to the schedule and yet when we pause, allow the interruption we experience some of the best moments of ministry, of presence that we can ever hope to enjoy and that interruption sometime includes the joy of the beauty around us....in nature and in the people we encounter.

So enjoy the simple things that life has to offer, allow the interruptions to enrich you in a multitude of ways and know that you are both a blessing and blessed because of the richness of the experience.

  

Duck and squawking geese at the man-made neighbourhood pond

 

"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or 'real life'. The truth is of course that what  one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life -- the life God is sending one day by day. "   C. S. Lewis