His tender mercies are over all His works

"The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.  The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works" (Psalm 145:8-9).  

There are sweet moments in time that God gives us.  A few of mine lately:

-I ask my mom if she will read to me before bed.  “Right now?” she asks, knowing I'm not ready for bed. “In 10 minutes!  I’ll be ready.”  I say a prayer, wash my face, brush my teeth, turn my overhead light off and turn the bed-side lamp on.  (It ends up taking much longer than 10 minutes, but Mom pretends not to notice).  Mom comes in and we get as comfortable as possible on my twin-sized bed with two or three cats invading our space J  I can’t possibly pick just one book to read, so Mom decides.  I rest my head on her shoulder, listening to her words, trying not to fall asleep before she finishes the chapter. 

-2-year-old Krew puts his little arms around my legs.  I pick him up, he looks into my eyes, puts his hands on my cheeks, brings his forehead up to mine, puts his nose against mine, and just stays there for a moment with a big smile on his face, giggling of course.  He’s giving “kisses.”

-I step outside for a run and my legs feel like moving.  A few miles later, they still feel like moving(!) and I feel I could go forever.  I go faster and faster, feeling the joy of having this body God gave me.   

-My mom and I have been reading and writing in the living room since 8 p.m. (she on the couch and me beside the fireplace); suddenly it’s midnight and she’s tired, but rather than go to bed she stays on the coach and says, “I’ll just rest here for a while”—just to be around me.  I keep writing, Daisy the cat curls up next to my mom, and I wonder how I got an angel for a mother.  She'll wake up in an hour, I'll probably still be working at something, she'll yawn and get a drink of water--"aren't you getting up early?"--give me a hug, go put her pjs on and (finally) go to bed.  I smile.  I know later, when I'm gone, I'll miss this.  

-I go over to Krista’s just to chat.  We don’t need to go anywhere or do anything, just talk.  We drink herbal tea and coconut water, she cleans her fridge out, and I fold the laundry because hey, we might as well do something “productive” while we chat.  She tells me about missions and marriage and motherhood.

These are a few of God's sweet, tender mercies upon me lately.  What are yours? 

Lord, I will "speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power...Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing..." (Psalm 145: 11, 16).