- The random speckle pattern of rain on a bleached sidewalk.
- The moon-lit silhouette of branches and blossoms against a frosted glass window.
- The happy jumping of tiny cricket-bugs with each step across a grassy field.
- The texture and character of the moon on a clear night.
- The fresh smell of air. Pure and unadulturated by potpourri, detergents and anti-bacterial everything.
- The three bunnies that eat clover from the patch of land just beyond the Walmart parking lot.
- Sparrows that peck worms from the grass and tweet of the Father’s daily provision.
- Sweat that runs from every pore and makes me feel strong and alive, not gross and dirty.
- His hand brushing mine. And today I am not too distracted to notice.
- An appetite, that when not as readily satiated, learns to taste each bite and savor each flavor.
All beautiful things I am experiencing and learning in a life lived beyond the paycheck.
We have lived in abundance. We have lived paycheck-to-paycheck. But today, we find ourselves pulled beyond even that. Where our joys for life and our reasons for pushing forward are not bought with money or with the hope of earning more of it. But simply for basking in the elements of life that reflect a detailed and imaginative and sovereign God. Elements that demand that I release my delusions of control and instead surrender. Elements that I perhaps would not have otherwise stopped to notice. And for that - I am thankful…
Phil 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.