Thank you for taking the time to read and spend a few moments with me as I share some very special clips of my life journey with you.  

I was blessed to spend this past week with my sons and daughter-in-law in North Carolina.  As I share what the Lord showed me while I was there, I hope you are blessed too.  

I’ve learned and am learning that expectations in others should always be full of love, grace, and kindness knowing that they too are on a journey that will hopefully lead them through the path that God has purposed for them. 

I believe most young adults today are incredible, strong, and compassionate.  From 911 all the way to COVID-19, they have had to grow up with so many challenges. My heart was heavy for them this week as I thought about how tough it is for them to just be “normal” in today’s society.  They face so many uncertainties and yet are filled with compassion for others and hope for their own future.  

I could see it in my children’s eyes.  I could see it in their love for each other.  I could see it in their love for their “babies,” which are my grand/fur babies.  Max, our  Corgi, and Jackson, our  Brown Lab.  These are not just their dogs.  They are their kids. They love them so much. My heart was filled with so much gratefulness for being able to be with my kids and see how strong they are and are still becoming.

I don’t know if they realize how much inner beauty they truly have. How God wants to work in and through their lives to show them off just like us parents want to share with everyone when our kids do something we are proud of, right?! LOL. 

So here I was, sitting on my special red chair this morning listening to the cicadas, which only come out every 17 years!  They were loud but they sounded beautiful to me. I thought about how 17 years is such a loooong time. Why do they do that?  According to National Geographic, “…they spend their entire developmental period in underground burrows before molting their shells and surfacing as adults.“¹

We always want God to answer our prayers immediately, but that’s not how it works! Life is a process. People are always in process. This is beautiful. This is necessary! Everything is “in process,” and waiting is part of it.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and steadfast in prayer.  

Romans 12:12

While at my son’s house, I also had to literally jump over all the caterpillars squirming around the grounds.  I thought about how all those caterpillars (if they survive) would soon become beautiful butterflies through metamorphosis (a process of transformation). That, to me, is a miracle!  Yet, so many people never think about that and just walk over or even step on them. 

I mentioned to my sons how amazing it is that, while in the process, many things do not look very nice. Like a cake for example. It’s just mushy and watery until baked. Mom’s analogies always drive them nuts! LOL.

We always want everything right away and we miss the whole miracle of what is happening in front of us. Whether it be raising children, wanting to get our career established, or getting that latest “thing” that came out, we want to get to the next place in life so fast that we miss the current moment(s).  The real miracles in life are, what I call, the every moment blessings.  It is stopping for a moment to listen to the Cicadas.  It is pulling the car over to watch that beautiful sunset as you’re driving home from work.

Get up early, sit, and listen.  Just listen to the still small voice of God.  He is always, always talking to us. He created us to love and be with Him.  It really is that simple.  And even though it can also be difficult at times, it is incredibly worth it.  The result is always more peace, more joy, more revelation, and more love.  

Thank you, Michael and Monika!  Thank you, Nicholas! You guys are a blessing and a joy!  Keep climbing!

References
1 – Cícadas National Geographic