Pennies from Heaven.

I love to see spring approaching. Today it was beautiful out-- cold if we weren't in direct sunlight, but beautiful. When Paul and I went for a walk, I just really enjoyed being outside. The wind stirred up crisp leaves in the gutters and there were little shoots of bright green grass pushing out from the yellow lawns. I was skipping along, singing, "Every time rains, it rains pennies from Heaven. Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from Heaven? ... Make sure that your umbrella is upside down."

And of course, there really are "pennies from Heaven" all the time in our lives. I think if we could see all of the things that the Lord does for us, we would be surprised.

A lot of the hard times in my life have been from failed friendships or a feeling of being friendless. I don't know why that is-- maybe I have been just too much in my own head, but these times stand out in my memory as times that I was more able to see the goodness of God in my life. I know that sounds strange. But when I was the most lonely, I found joy in every smile or friendly greeting from another. I took pleasure in every small kindness that I would normally take for granted-- like the cashier who wants to chat with you when ringing up your order.

Likewise, having to deal with my health problems has taught me to enjoy fully the days that I feel good, to appreciate the body that I have. Why do women always want a different body than the one they have? Didn't we all want bodies badly enough before we came here? If we hate them, isn't that showing God that we're not grateful for this amazing gift?

Anyway, I really do think too much. Sometimes my mind flies off on these tangents and I just follow them wherever they go. My point was something along these lines: when we pay attention, we can see the pennies from heaven stacking up. Only then do we realize how rich we really are!