My uncle, Peter Grobler, wrote to us this week about how it’s kind of sad that we so quickly forget the beautiful things – and how it’s powerful and necessary to remember. He wrote,

Why must such moments be forgotten? Time does and should heal the hurts, but was time ever meant to obliterate the beautiful? It appears so. More and more it’s the little moments that need to be held and enshrined. They cover the awfulness of the prime time news, of child rape, and corruption, and official idiocy, which can so quickly stir anger and a sort of stultifying horror at the wickedness and suffering of the world. But lovely little moments, like stars in a black sky, paint the darkness and declare still the glory of God. The cultural sunshine is too hot, too brazen, too brash, too noisy to be pleasant for me at the moment – global warming is too violently colourful and crowded like a beach in December – I prefer the stars and the moon and the comparative silence and solace of the night. In spite of the dark, it gives me opportunity to pray for a new day. It’s my time to find pleasure in the simple and the seemingly insignificant, and recall again that many of God’s gracious wonders happen in hiddenness, like the Messiah, born in a manager!

Hold those thoughts this week, as you keep calm and carry on counting the beauties.

My 39 things for the week:

 

1759 My sisters remembering bits of our childhood that I don’t –

1760 And vice versa

1761 Reminder – in all things – God’s will, God’s way, in his strength, for his glory

1762 List on a friend’s fridge of big blessings scattered across the year – the lavish flavour of so much grace

1763 Starting my Christmas shopping – like a nerd – before the shops get wild

1764 Lola’s happy frenzy because we took her with us to swim at my folks

1765 Design Box in Milner Street

1766 Unexpected wisdom in the moment

1767 Skyping Pam in Harare

1768 Reminder to pray big prayers

1769 Picnic with Samantha and Annabelle on their new lawn

1770 Cam agreeing to the recycling – after photographing – of a few pieces of his ample art portfolio

1771 Ideas that dawn in compelling, formidable colours and don’t fade insipid

1772 External hard drive for back ups

1773 Slowly slowly making my way through unread emails

1774 New WordSpace series to write

1775 A mom traveling far and expensive in time and space and emotion to be strong for her daughter

1776 La Senza

1777 That incredible story – 1 Kings 17 – ‘There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.’

1778 YouTube clips on my phone at breakfast – newborn baby turtles hurtling from sand to sea – an attempt to quench Cam’s insatiable questions and get him to chew

1779 Reminder: obedience to God is the goal, not the means to an end. Just obedience.

1780 A good – though rare – hair day

1781 My mom’s very-cheesy perfectly-crispy-on-top bacon and mushroom lasagne (I had thirds)

1782 Duncan and Linda’s imminent move – excitement of new spaces

1783 Murray, Samuel and Gibson building the boys a swing

1784 Gav’s advice

1785 Scott – every day when I fetch him from school – ‘I love you so much Mom!’

1786 Thoughts of a new year taking shape and straightening out

1787 Hanging lights in the windows –

1788 And decorating the Christmas tree –

1789 For the first time in our new home –

1790 And how magic and sparkle transfix shiny happy little boy faces

1791 A Saturday full of friends –

1792 Breakfast at the Le Granges –

1793 And supper at the Earls

1794 Heather – beautiful bride-to-be

1795 Wet fresh smell of grass growing –

1796 Under cool pastel skies –

1797 Storm cleared

 

Painting of pastel colours in the sky: Kathleen Cook