Being Engaged

I took a RECESS from writing the past two weeks to enjoy time with Idaho family and friends in town.  There is so much to write about.  I don’t know where to start.

I could write about how I want to be like Mary Poppins....kind, assertive, imaginative, and matter-of-factly confident.  I was so engaged in the incredibly amazing performance of Mary Poppins by the Milton High School drama department, and I’m still processing the life lessons her character brings forth. 

Or I could use this time to understand the tears that surprisingly appeared as I sat with Audra and her friend McKenna at the Dolphin Show in the Georgia Aquarium. The dolphins came out and water was not just spilling out over the wall of the water tank, but overflowing from my eyes.  Instantly, my heart connected with the experience I was watching.  For some reason my heart kicked into gear. But that's for another blog...

I could share the thoughts I’m wrestling with, and that is a perfect description - wrestling!  Or maybe today's writing is about the special place I go when I’m wrestling with the details and sometimes unexpected heaviness of life.  

I go to my neighbor's house.  

Yes, I go to Roy and Nell's house to see the Big Picture when my heart feels suffocated by the all-consuming details of life. When life feels heavy I knock on their door.  Little do they know that I'm not as sweet as they think I am. I'm selfishly coming over to visit because they make MY day.

I listen to stories of days gone by. Their 70 plus years have been filled with worries, heartache, and challenges too, but they don't talk of those things anymore. Life is too short.  They talk of those they love, who have loved them, friendships over time, stories that make us all laugh, the people and moments that mean something. 

Recently, Roy told me he became a preacher at age seven.  His first audience was a congregation of chickens on the farm.  Everyday when he would go out to feed them, he would preach at the chickens!  

Is it strange to say that is so refreshing to me?  So simple.  So pure.  So innocent. Real moments that engage my heart, bring joy back to life. 

And all those thoughts I had been wrestling with seem so small & insignificant.  

I believe visiting with Roy and Nell is so meaningful to me because that's what my Grandma Lucille instilled in me.  She was engaged in people's lives. She showed me how to value all people.  She is the one who took my brother Adam and I to nursing homes to visit the lonely.  Together we did yard work for those who couldn't.  We baked and delivered our goodies to neighbors.  

Her impact on my life is never-ending.   Grandma Lucille's imagination was like Mary Poppins and so was her creativity.  And her heart was like Jesus in every way! 

What a combination - Jesus & Mary Poppins!  She always added a creative flair to every meal and holiday, yet in her gentle disposition she had a deep commitment to share the love of Jesus at every family gathering.  

While I'm not as creative as Grandma Lucille, I still continue the traditions we enjoyed with her including decorating Easter eggs.  Again, like Mary Poppins, her eggs were like a painter's canvas!  Our eggs were no match to hers.

So this week we boiled the eggs and found the crayons...

I know Easter isn't really about eggs, but Grandma had the knack of bringing Jesus into any situation.  She could make any egg a reflection of God's glory.  (In fact, she could make art out of driftwood, rocks, and moss.  Her home was decorated with her own creations of God's creations.)

She didn't lecture me about the true meaning of Easter or pull out scripture to show that eggs are not a part of the Easter story.  She taught us who Jesus was by how she engaged in life; how she lived, loved, and served.  Her life was the Big Picture!

I looked at my first egg and thought, "What would Grandma do?" 

  

Grandma never told me what to draw on my egg.  I had the freedom to do my own creating.  But here I am now - many years later - and I'm inspired to draw the same pictures she drew. 

And after seeing a few of my eggs, Ava made some of her own...

Including one of Jesus!

Today I'm thankful for Mary Poppins and dolphins and neighbors and grandmothers - all of which reveal to me that there is something special when your heart is free to engage wholeheartedly. The gift is seeing a bigger picture, a reflection of Who has it all in His hands!  Our God is so much bigger than the details we live in. 

This weekend we celebrate a Savior who was "ALL IN", completely engaged, willing to die to mend hearts and make them new.  

Live wholeheartedly.  Fully engaged.

Don't get distracted by all the details, but 

treasure the big picture moments!

He is RISEN! Let's Celebrate!