Life spins maddeningly around me, and sometimes I loose track of the beautiful in the midst of the broken... 

As I watch my girls, wide-eyed, exploring the world around them, drinking it in, seeing only the beautiful and lovely. It makes me wonder, why don't I see it? 

Why do I get so caught up in what is wrong, what could be better, in the sin sick gore of life, my own life, the lives around me... and I forget about the Creator. 

And my little one bend down to watch an ant crawling over a rock. "Mommy, what is this?" 

"Oh, that's an ant."

"It's a pretty ant Mommy,"

"Oh?" (I never noticed the beauty in ants before)

"Yes it is, did God put it there?"

"Yes, He did."

There again, the reminder that God is here, even in what seems like such a mess.  

They find such delight in the little things, my 18 mo old wades into the beaver lake. My first thought is mommy concern, it's cold water, we have a 1.5 drive back to the motel, they just CAN'T get wet- but I see the look of delight on her face as the water swirls between her toes... the joy as she kicks around at the loose stones on the bottom and watches the sun shimmer across them. And I just make sure the clothes stay dry. :-) After all, why are we up here? To show the girls the beauty of the world. Why? because it is indeed a reflection of the far greater beauty of our Creator.

So they splash in the water, watching the ripples go out from their feet, asking questions about life, about the world, about God. And I realize again what I've known all along. This isn't about me, it isn't about what I can see or feel around me, it IS about God. It's about seeing HIM in everything. No, this world isn't perfect- but where is my focus? As the age old story of the man in the mountain goes, we become like what we gaze upon. Is my gaze on the fallen and broken around me? or on the beauty that reflects my Father?

And so I'm reminded of the worn-out cliche, that somehow I still find I need- to pause in the busy swirl of life, and take notice of the small joys around me. To stop, and 'smell the flowers'. 

And God uses my little girls to bring me back around to Him.