I've been blogging in this quiet corner for four years now. I remember when the Cowboy first suggested it to me and how I immediately said no thanks. Me and technology don't mesh well together.
The Cowboy set it up for me anyway and I can't even really express how grateful I am that he did.
When I first started coming to this quiet space, it was more to write down the silly things the kids did, or to post pictures of some place that we ventured off to as a family. But over the years it has become a heart place for me. A place where I can scratch out the things that I'm wading through. These messy days under this farmhouse roof are molding and shaping me in ways that I never anticipated they ever could.
In a sense this little corner is a chronicle of Him making all things beautiful.
Then Christmas came and went and the Cowboy's Mom and Grandmother gave me a gift that has blessed my heart beyond measure and they put my scratchings into five lovely books....
Every last post is now a memory that the pudgy little hands under this farmhouse roof can touch.
The books sit on my great grandmother's chest, the one that tucked behind our couch. Almost daily, the treasures pick up a book or two and flip through the memories. They love seeing themselves and love talking about the places they've been and the people that have been in their lives.
And me, I love reading and remembering what the Lord has done. How He takes me and refines me, and shows me His heart for me.
I got the fifth and final book from the mailbox last night, pulled the book out of the box and flipped to the dedication page... Thank You Lord that it really is the way we're all learning to hand out grace around here that's moving us further into You.
I flipped through the pages and remembered The List, the 50 things that reminded me of the great gift God has given me in the Cowboy.
I remembered the Dancing Girl and the heart that her heavenly Papa gave her, and the the day that she gave her hair so that others might feel beautiful.
I remembered the ways that He's been drawing me into His Word... Remembered that that process isn't over yet... I thanked Him that I am always a work in progress.
Maybe one day when they grow up and have their own families, these pages will make them laugh, give them hope, remind them that there really is no better way to live than to learn the art of acceptance with joy in whatever He gives.
Perhaps they'll read these words and never feel alone as they learn to wade through their own messy days where ever they might be?
A thousands thanks for this precious gift.
Love you both dearly. :)
