Cheer Up Time

There are a lot of babies at our church.

I don't want a baby (right now), but I sure do love to play with them. That alone should be enough of a cheer up.

But this morning at my church, 

I seemed to get stuck in a sort of 'love trance'.

As I sat there for a few minutes, time seemed to slow and suddenly every movement, every act in all the seats around me seemed filled with the most pure love. Every way I turned my head, in seeming slow motion, I was struck by another moment. It was very surreal.  All day I have replayed the slightly blurry images through my mind, reveling in the love that I felt while not be part of one of them. I guess babies and new life do tend to make things happier, but I feel like I got a chance to witness relationships in the way that God must see them all the time.  I wish I could take still photos from the replays in my mind, or that I'd had an invisible camera to capture the moments. Still I'm happy to have this sense all day of being...lucky.

Here are just a few of things that I saw today among ordinary people that sprung unexpected tears to my eyes and provided me with proof that the world is at heart a good place:

~a mom staring down at her newborn boy with such focused, intense joy

~a couple married nearly forty years standing beside each other, holding hands

~soon to be first time parents going through a high risk pregnancy sharing a private whispered joke followed by a snuggle closer together in their seats

~the loving retrieval of a one year old making a break for it on all fours under a few chairs

~mom, dad & their two sweet girls standing in the communion circle together, with dad's arms lovingly, protectively wrapped around all his girls

~a jibe from a brother in law to his sister in law and the warm "I'm just joking" quick back rub that followed

~a man sitting waiting listening silently praying with closed eyes

What lovely images to store away forever.