I don't think of it then, when I raise my hands up in what isn't, well, precisely, praise, but more this throwing lift of lament and exhausted surrender and end-of-the-day fatigue.
And I can't say that it occurred to me then that it is the judges who have scales and it really could be that we were born with two hands because we never stop weighing the good against the bad, today against yesterday, this life against the scripted one running in this glorious techni-color on the big screens of our hearts, and that I'm weighing everything all the time.
But I do know that the piles and the weeds and the to-do lists and the messiness of living, it can weigh right heavy and I feel it in the shoulders, the back, the heart, and this too can be good, keeping me on the knees and needy.
It only occurs to me after I cut the flowers, haul the bloomin' basket into the counter and fill a pitcher with a prism of summer sun and all the petaled shades.
I gather up the stems, the stripped away leaves. Put away the scissors.
It's when I have the pitcher in my hand and those black-eyed susans are long-necked and looking, and I go looking for a place to set them and none seems better than right there on the sill over the sink, but there isn't much room because I've got that scale that I've weighed my babies on sitting there --- so I just plunk the pitcher directly down on the scale.
It's when the levered beam falls with a clunk.
It's only then, when the beam in my own eye falls away, then that I see clear what all saints must already know...
The world's beauty outweighs it's burdens.
I serve up a garden medley ratatouille.
Kai cries over the zucchini and the peppers.
I left the kitchen in a stew of pots and pans and peels. I forgot to put a load of laundry in before we sat down to the dinner. I haven't taken in the load out on the line. I have to stack books and take out the recycling and find a hoe for that garden.
What will I look for, to outweigh everything? Who will I look to, to outweigh everything?
Eating out on the porch and the boys bandy about ideas and plans for their summer lists. The Farmer fills cups of waters, passes them down, smiles tired from his end of the table. And I look out at the sunflowers, with all those sprouting weeds at their feet, and I can tell just by the way they're nodding their crowning heads --- they agree, they agree.
They agree with the scale, and here with these people in the midst of our piles, my equilibrium recalibrates to find its center in the Judge who became grace to bestow grace and I can read the scale, feel it inside, and it's true:
If you can really see--- the weight of Glory always tips the scales for joy.
I think of this, the next time I raise my hands in happy thanks.
How light I feel -- my perfect weight.
:::
##1760 - #1779 of the endless beauty. ... I give thanks for all this weight of glory and find my perfect weight....
blue mason jars
water hose and happy kids
reading up for a new learning year, that Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a way of Life
Dad filling my hand with sweet cherries
pit spitting contests
cleaning out closets and decluttering
kids petting kitties
still of a sleeping house, a waiting bathtub & the slow reading movement
making up
the privilege of home and hearth and the call to this vocation
camp firewood for sale, $3 a bag, along the roadside
queen anne's lace waving down every gravel lane
inspiration to redesign some of our learning places for the new year
free shipping
joining this project --- & making it a family, homeschool project.
(We can't wait to begin! We selected the theme: "A Day in the Life of...." Maybe our little journal will travel to a city near you? Maybe you'll join too?)
hollyhocks with black-eyed susans
shoulder massages by sons
clean mirrors
reading Scripture on Sunday afternoons, down by the river gurgling endless...
then walking home real slow
:::
Related:
How to be a God Seeker
Want to drink the joy elixir? Become a Joy Finder? Consider joining the Gratitude Community -- just jump in with your own counting! How to begin your own 1000 Gift List ::: How Gratitude Can Change your Life
( Drop me a line if choose to begin giving intentional thanks and gather fresh joy and I will happily add either your name or a web link to the Gratitude Community I'm slowly getting caught up on meeting all you beautiful folks who have joined the Gratitude Community. Thank you for your kind grace and patience! I'm so looking forward to meeting you all soon!)
The Gratitude Community warmly welcomes...
Private Journals:
Linda
Wanda
Rachel at Living Sweetly
Amy at To Love
Rachel at Occasional Boredom in an Otherwise Exciting Life
Natalie at Mommy on Fire
Suzzanah at So Much Shouting So Much Laughter
Sarah at Blessings Like Winged Horses
Holly at Starlit Home
Dayna at Pressing Forward...Glancing Back
Amy at Girlfriends Get Real
Rael at Reflective Beauty
Elizabeth at The Lean Green Mommy Machine
Jennifer at Jennifer Janes
Jennifer at The Semi Crunchy Sahm
Vicki at Journal to Bliss
Lilbear at Once Upon a Muffin
Patty at Pkshouse's Blog
Beth at Conversations
Carolyn at Hearing the Heartbeat
Allison at Giggles, Grace and Gratitude
If you'd like to share your endless list of Hallelujah! -- (please, jump in!) -- just add the direct URL to your specific 1000 gift list post... and if you join us, we humbly ask that you please help us find each other by sharing the community's graphic within your post.
Photos: The ugly beautiful here
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