A dark haired beauty, sweet Alma from just down the road joins us again and we are blessed and lucky to have her here at least part of the time. She is not used to routine and the kind of care she receives here and the first day of each visit is spent relearning rules and how things go here. She usually falls quickly in with Lyddie and Millie who light up when she arrives. By the second and sometimes third day we have her I sense a freedom and a joy in her again.
She is a treasure to our family.
The thing about love is that it grows. You can't run out of it, and there's always more coming. When Jesse and I got married we were so in love that we were eager to have children to share that love, for that love to spill into another person to enjoy it with us.
Isn't that how God felt as He decided to create us? We know that He had ultimate joy and love and fellowship among the members of the Trinity but if my imperfect love for Jesse spilled out so much how much more so the perfect love of God spills onto us, His children created for His own glory?
So when we take all these children out on the weekends we have Alma... to church or the store, and we get the smiling comment, "You've got your hands full, eh?" all I can think is "Yes! Full of blessings and love!"
Love begets more love and God's love pours and pours into me and spills out on two little redheads, one deep brunette, and a tiny light brunette. Don't ask me how I do it... well, you can ask me but I'll probably laugh and shrug and say it just doesn't all always get done so I don't know if I am doing "it"- whatever "it" is. Like the four loads of laundry piled precariously in one basket with one more in the dryer and one more in the wash. Tonight there are still a few toys scattered. My floor desperately needs to be mopped. But these four precious souls, these beautiful creations designed to receive God's love. They are worth bearing any cost for Jesus' sake, even sticky jam on the floor.
What a precious picture and I'm not ever sure what "it" is either when I'm asked and I certainly have never been able to answer it, I wouldn't know where to begin to explain. What I do know is there is time enough for folding the laundry and mopping the floor, we shall have days empty enough to do all of that when our little ones are grown and have flown the nest to live their lives and make their own way in the world and I'm pretty sure we won't want to do it then either and will yearn for these years back again. I'm always reminded of the poem Dust If You Must when I see piles of housework calling to me over the children.
ReplyDeleteLove this Sarah- thanks for sharing!! Always love seeing pictures of sweet little Alma at your place! Also, I can't believe how much her hair has grown!!
ReplyDeleteMiss y'all!
...even the sticky jam on the floor. Yes!
ReplyDeleteWe talked about this very subject this morning during our devotions when asked by my 13 yo daughter how it is that a mom can love so much with so many to love (husband, five kids, spouses, and now a grandbaby). "Ah, daughter! The beauty of being made in the image of God is that since He is love, we can love as He loves..." Trinity & truth, it all just spills over into the most blessed life ever, doesn't it?
Blessings,
Lisa :)