Sunday, March 11, 2007

Dearest God,

The first hint of Spring. Sunshine, blue skies, warm breeze, flower bulbs poking up through the ground. The planet is poised, ready to burst into color.

My husband hearkened back to days of long ago when a Sunday afternoon drive was the joy of the week. He wanted to take me out to eat so we drove out of the church parking lot and made our way to a local restaurant.

As we were greeted at the door, I asked for a booth. I wanted to be in our own little area, with no distractions. At Ted's we both ordered turkey dinner specials. Harold ordered a sasparilla. I put my hand across the table and patted his hand. What a pleasure it was to be with him.

When we got home, we began to laugh. All afternoon we laughed and laughed about the silliest things. Like little children everything tickled our funny bone.

We each took a short nap, having been up later than expected the night before. Then Harold did a first - decided to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I was writing a letter to God when he came downstairs with four orange Tupperware measuring spoons. "Which one of these is a tablespoon?" He queried me. "What do you need?" I asked him. "A tablespoon of baking soda." He replied. "Not for chocolate chip cookies." I told him. He brought me down the recipe and I pointed out that tsp is teaspoon, not tablespoon. I winced when I thought about eating a cookie with double the amount of baking soda.

In the evening we sat in the living room eating cookies and watching Mission Impossible. I looked over at this man I fell in love with more than 20 years ago. He is the craziest man I have ever known. His strange antics, playful way and inquisitive mind nearly drive me crazy at times. But overall I was drawn to him by these unique characteristics. He makes me laugh, grounds me when I'm flying too high, and thrusts me into the arms of a loving God when he has difficulty coping with a bout of my health problems.

By the time I crawled into bed to sleep, I reflected back on my day beginning with worship. What a beautiful day it had been. God had been present from the moment I had awakened. I had sensed him in the air as I put the final touches on my sermon early in the morning. And throughout the day his presence was as evident as the scent of Spring. As I closed my eyes, I gave thanks.

Precious Lord,
a gift,
this day has been a gift.
Your blessing
was all about me.
I did not have to call out your name.
You were with me.
From the moment
my feet touches the ground
in the dark hours of the morning,
I knew you were nearby.
We would spend
March 10 together.
How blessed I am
to be in the arms
of both my God
and my husband,
all in the same day.
I offer you
my thanksgivings,
deep and abiding love.

Eternally yours, Andrea