Devotion 370 - Cover

It is a very rare day when we don’t find one or a dozen things on our calendar.  This was one of those wonderful days.  We did not have to listen for an alarm.  We did not have to rush children out of bed.  We could sip our coffee and treat ourselves to the treasure of time.

I tried hard not to look at the various messes in various corners of the house.  They often do a masterful job convincing me of my lacking skills in housekeeping.  Today I vowed I would not listen.  Tomorrow and this next week, many things will face us.  But not today.

I hear my little daughter.  She yells my name down every stair and through every door.  I set my coffee down realizing the days are numbered that she will want me in the morning.  Our oldest son out the door at four this morning for a ministry trip.  He did not need me to pack his clothes or polish his shoes.  He can do all that now.

My middlers still asleep will rise and dive into their latest novels without a mention of my name.  Yes, the word mama is cherished even if it is bellowed.

She lays, her almond eyes sparkling open asking what the day holds.  Always the same question and never does her excitement disappoint.  The answer can be school or church or chores and she embraces the day with joy.

 

I can learn something from her.

I wrap her up in her blanket and I promise her cocoa.  Some piece of me wishes every morning was paced exactly like this.

We turn the corner and she spies both her brother and sister asleep.  Temptation slips over her.  She asks to get down and say good morning to them.  I explain they are sleeping but she promises she will be both gentle and quiet.  Temptation then got the better of me as I longed to see her pull off either.  

Ava was not made for gentle or quiet.  She is gregarious and loud.  I love that about her. She approached her sister first.  She ran and put her face within centimeters of Lily’s.  I decided this was a very bad idea.  I waited.

There was nothing loud, nothing even close to bold.  

With the gentility of an angel, Ava asked if she could tuck Lily in.  She took her prized pink blanket that I had just wrapped about her and offered it to her sister.  She laid it gently over Lily and then tucked every corner under Lily’s arms, her legs and up around her neck.  She whispered into her sister’s ear, “Anytime you need my blanket, just ask!”  And this mama cried.

You see there was some part of my soul that wanted to lounge over coffee and tarry by the fire.  There is some part of a selfish me that forgets what a blessing it is to pour out because every once in a while when you least expect it, the Father not only fills you up, He covers you.

The Psalmist David wrote, “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." 

Psalm 91:4

I have chosen this Psalm often when I personally face fear and  especially when my children have faced some peril.  The imagery speaks of protection but even more I believe it speaks of presence.

 I can pick Jesus up like I do my morning coffee or I can sense Him and seek Him moment by moment.  He is not surprised by our thoughts.  He is not alarmed at the events that shake our days.  He promises He is there in the most beautiful way possible.  He does not carry or push or scold or shame.  He lets us walk free; He lets us think and do and love with wild abandon.  He remains simply and so exquisitely covering us.  He does not use the image of a claw or a fist, something richer, more beautiful and amazingly strong. 

He covers us with wings. 

How different moments and millenniums become when we truly see His fingerprints on our lives.  The people we know, the families we love, the friendships we cherish.  The work we do, the passions we feel, it is all fashioned under the wing and within the reach of His wisdom.

There are no accidents;  there are no interruptions;  there is an ordinary, extraordinary life covered in grace.