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December 13, 2012

:the one where we turn on a small light:


so, i am not what i thought i'd be. trying to figure out how to practice the way of jesus with my children by my side keeping them safe, yet reaching out into the ugly-messy that is all around us.

it's so simple for my children. this has to be what jesus was talking about when he said the kingdom of god belongs to such as these. kids keep it simple. i'm trying to figure out how i can get to the homeless shelter with three kids in tow because jesus reached out to the homeless and was after all, homeless, and my children are bringing heaven to earth right where they are.

we went to the grocery store to get supplies to bake bread for our neighbors. never a small feat with three under five. i dressed and loaded three precious little ones into the mini van and we made our way. i unloaded them giving them a pep talk about not running, being good listeners and using their manners.

we started down the aisle and they started saying hello to every person we passed. they made eye contact and waved. one older gentleman, in particular, took to them. he watched them with joy strewn across his face. he delighted in my children and they in him. he giggled as they were fascinated by the toys that lined the rows saying i'm just gonna look mommy. he was not bothered when they ran in front of his buggy or twirled into his space. their joy was contagious and he caught what they were passing around with an open hand.

after loading babies and groceries into the van, then unloading once we arrived home, we began baking. what would normally take me twenty minutes took about an hour. we talked and giggled and eisley took in new skills. i found myself in awe of this little one with such a big heart. we packaged our bread and delivered it to our neighbors and she felt the joy of giving with no agenda, expecting nothing in return. that joy spilled over into my mama heart, a rare and precious treasure to be pondered all of my days.

we are all ordinary people. who can within our own small ways 
turn on a small light in a dark room 
-miep gies

3 comments:

  1. It's beautiful to read what your children can teach you. The ordinary and mundane can become just that if we let it, so thank you for sharing the fun that you found in what could've been very normal stuff.

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  2. i think you just described my day.lol. yes to prep-talks before stores and taking twice as long to bake.lol

    so great that we as parents really can show and teach the love of jesus in the small thing we do! b/c really the small things are the big things!

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  3. Hi melissa...ive just been reading your posts here for about 15 or so minutes, very glad to find you through miscelaney monday. I also blog to build community as you mentioned. Im looking forward to reading more of your heart and cute stories such as this one about baking and giving together :)

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