Most days I just scoot through life balancing prayer, studying God’s word, partaking in volunteer work, completing housework, etc., and I don’t stop to smell the roses as often as I should. I try to, but some days I just take a quick whiff on the way through the garden. But this past week, as I was sitting on our backyard patio with my Bible in hand, I looked out in wonder and saw all the gifts God has provided in that space.
Growing up in Pennsylvania near the West Virginia border I dreamed of living by the ocean. My family only saw the ocean on the occasions we visited my aunt and uncle living in the Bronx. It was a long drive across Pennsylvania, and even with the Howard Johnson restaurants the cost to eat for a family of seven was a factor in how often we made the trip, to say nothing about cramming all those extra bodies into my aunt’s tiny home, which already included their three children.
I can only remember being at Jones Beach one time, although there are photos of us there when we were kiddos. Still, something in the salt air and water must have settled in my heart, because I always knew the ocean was where I belonged. The cold snow and the hills of Pennsylvania were not for me.
After I began working full time I talked some of my co-workers into joining me for the long drive to Ocean City, Maryland, on a holiday weekend. That was it, three days at the beach and I was truly smitten. In spite of severe sunburn, the dreams of my future included the shores of God’s beautiful ocean from that moment on.
So, as I sat in my backyard here in Ocean City, with the ocean a few blocks in front of me and the bay behind me, I marveled at the wondrous gift God gave my husband Neil and me 36 years ago when He brought us to this spot.
Indeed, living here is a blessing beyond compare for me. We have hosted members of both of our large families, many friends, and extended family in our compact home. God’s beautiful blessing to us has been shared many times to bless others. God planned this gift for me even as He planted the desire to live by the shore in my heart. What a glorious Father!
Thinking all of these thoughts made me so very thankful to God for His loving care over me. On most every day of my life I give thanks to God for His wonderful care and gifts to me, but on this particular day it felt as if the heavens opened up and I could hear the angel choir singing praises to God for His many blessings, and I wanted to join in.
As hard as I tried to imagine the beautiful sound of the angelic choir I knew in my earthly mind it could never be accurate, but that discovery just made my anticipation of hearing angels sing when I arrive “home” that much sweeter.
As I continued on in those thoughts of thankfulness I considered how beautiful heaven will be without sin. There will be no Satan in sight to draw our eyes away from God. The love we feel for God will be shared with those souls surrounding us – old friends and new.
What beautiful thoughts these were, and I eventually had to talk myself back into the reality of time just to finish reading my devotions for the day. I must say it was a most pleasant experience dwelling on God and His gifts and blessings to me.
I love the verse in Malachi where God speaks to his people and says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
I have learned that sweet obedience to God’s word and wishes is what brings us God’s blessings. Paul tells us, “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
God doesn’t seek souls who find His will and work as drudgery. God wants souls who seek to do His will on Earth with love and cheer. The verse preceding in Malachi tells us, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
We give our hearts to God, and He will share His generous heart with us. What a blessed gift.
Editor’s note: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
