I woke up yesterday to a pale grey and cloudy sky. The sun had not fully reached above the horizon, and the mist had formed a foggy haze that rested just above the trees. It was slightly cold, yet not enough to make you shiver, as if fall had secretly rolled in overnight with the wind. Mist formed droplets on the ground that made things dewy and bright amidst the paleness of the gray sky, and the lighting, just right, made everything green. It was not just any green. It was the green that you see in the rolling hills of the english countryside, the green that spreads itself across areas with shady trees and rainy winters, the kind of green that looks almost too green to be real as if it were holy pigment painted by Gods very paintbrush. Its the kind of green that makes my heart flutter, as if God was romancing me with strokes of paint and pure luxury for my senses.
I sat on my porch steps and stared in amazement at the scene that bloomed before me. Small blades of grass and intricate bunches of green clovers playfully peeked out from under my steps, as if they were a childhood friend popping in to say come play. My heart skipped a beet in excitement with the feeling of carefree childhood days washing over me like a rush of wind thru my hair. Starring out into this perfect scene I felt like a small girl dizzy with excitement to go out and play.
Here on my porch amidst the green clovers, I felt transported. Floods of sweet whimsical memories came drifting into my mind. Visions surfaced from my heart of cool crisp days in Chicago when the winters chill had just warn off, and the clover laden grass began to sprout under the lacy white patches of leftover snow. I felt as if God had known the treasure box where I secretly stashed my priceless memories, and He had now dug them up from their hiding spot I had long forgotten existed. I felt it a romantic gift as my heart began to feel the joy I had felt on those days of long ago.
Those were the days that brought me a certain hope. Those were the days that I truly felt like the care free girl all children are meant to feel like. I suppose it was the excitement and promise of summer that brought so much joy to my heart those days, or the reassurance that the long cold winter had ended. It was the fresh feeling of the bitter sting of winter melting away revealing a new world growing just beneath the surface.
There in my memories, in my excitement and in my pure delight in the greenery surrounding me I felt invited into a romance with God, a romance that filled my heart so much I felt as if it were spilling over to the ground. Why hadn't I seen these bright green clovers before? I looked out across my yard in bewilderment at the patches of green blanketing the ground. They were everywhere, as if there were more clovers than grass. Had they really sprung over night trailing in on the coat tails of fall, or had I missed them in my flurry of day to day activities that filled my week?
I suppose I miss things often that God has to show me as I rush from one place to the next, and I suppose its like any relationship in life, sometimes we just need to be a little more present to experience the full joy of what one has to offer. I realize it is in the simple things that I feel his presence, and it is in those moments I feel like a child again, loved and carefree as if my days of growing up had been lovingly reversed. It is in those moments I feel loved, unconditionally and romanced beyond my wildest dream.
Lauren
