Hello World,
And just like that,
February is almost over. It's gone so fast, yet it feels as though I've been
in India an age. I don't know what I was expecting in coming out here, in many
respects I don’t think I had any expectations because I had no idea what to
expect. In spite of this however, it is so different from whatever it is that I
was expecting. Does that make sense?
I said in a blog
before Christmas that I was struck by a quote Phil read me from a book called
happiness by Randy Alcorn. The bit I quoted then was by C.S Lewis, saying there was a whole section on finding God and joy in the mundane that I wasn't going to quote yet. This is that. Randy Alcorn begins by listing
seemingly small things that we find joy in, for example: "Ripe oranges
straight off a tree. Chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven and a tall
glass of milk (…) A comfortable recliner, the smell of leather and a dog's
wagging tail". Alcorn then goes on to say "If we disregard these and
thousands of other gifts, we don’t just fail to notice them, we fail to notice
God."
I love Joy. You could quite literally say that it's my middle name. The idea of noticing
God in the small, mundane things has always been really important to me. I am
the type of personality that is very easily amused, and so have always been
able to find joy in small, seemingly unimportant things. However since being in
India, I have been challenged even more to find these small joyful things, as
although I am having an amazing time, there are a lot of moments where
everything just feels a bit big and overwhelming. Finding God in the small
things always manages to give me joy, and makes things seem less daunting. In light of this, here is
a list of small things that I have found great joy in this month.
- Sunlight peeping through the curtains after a good nights' sleep
- The bright colours of the flowers
- Gecko's darting across the wall away from noise
- The smell of clean laundry
- Picking a lime of the tree for pancakes
- PANCAKES.
- Squirrels chasing each other around the garden
- Writing letters
- Yellow butterflies
- Finishing a whole book in an afternoon
- The soothing sound of a fan at night
- Facetime
- Glass bangles
- A conversation about lichens
- How swishy long skirts are
- A fascination with freckles
- Jacket potatos
- Dobble
- Action songs
- Friendly dogs
Until the next update!
All my love,
Lizzie
"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the almighty" Psalm 91 vs 1
I completely agree with you Lizzie - I too find joy in the small things I see/hear/smell around me as it reminds me of the amazing creative powers of God. However, I'm intrigued by number 18 - what on earth is Dobble? Is it some delicious Indian cuisine? Somebody's name? A game? ...... the list could go on! Please enlighten me 😊
ReplyDeleteIt's a game! You'd absolutely love it and it'd go down great in youth
DeleteI'll have to get some freckles I can see!!:)
ReplyDeleteI love your list. Must write myself one, too. Definitely Prokofiev.
ReplyDeleteOops..from Fiona by the way.
DeleteOops..from Fiona by the way.
DeleteOops..from Fiona by the way.
Delete