One of Friday's Lovely Moments -Cohen's first haircut, and I got to BE the front-row seat.
Nobody has to convince you that life is busy and blazes by at the speed of, well, life. Expressions like, “Where did all the time go?” are the stuff of every-day conversation.
Sometimes that can feel painfully lonely as we emerge from the grindstone and wonder where everybody went.
Sometimes that can feel out of control as we are swept away by the rhythm and melody of somebody else’s music.
And yet…
And yet…
Even in the craziness, the busyness, and the where’d-it-all-go, life has a way of presenting what Roger Breland calls a Lovely Moment – those experiences where even if for a brief pause, life seems to come up for air and fill your heart.
Sometimes the Lovely Moment arrives in the form of a long-anticipated event, like your wedding day, graduation, or the birth of a child or grandchild.
Sometimes the Lovely Moment comes as a complete surprise, when suddenly you realize how full your heart is because of a special memory, a future conversation played out in your mind, the joyful news of a friend, or a reminder somehow that you’re being thought of.
The Lovely Moment can be an elusive thing, but only because we’re too busy, too wounded, too stressed, or too blinded to open our eyes and see them. The truth is, Lovely Moments are in abundant supply…
When you find a connecting point, and you’re reminded that those passing feelings of loneliness do not mean you’re actually alone – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When you have the opportunity to touch another life with the comfort that they don’t have to be afraid – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When you’re given the opportunity to imagine – or give someone else the capacity to dream – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When you’re interrupted by the ordinary-made-extraordinary – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When joys are doubled and sorrows are halved by the presence and love of someone else – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When you can be a bit of a rebel and break the artificial rules of the perennially correct – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When you discover someone you can truly trust, or when you earn the trust of another so that they feel completely safe with you – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When your life is arrested by one of those “watch what I can do” moments from God – a dazzling sunset, a magnificent sunrise, tiny fingers curled around yours – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When you’re invited to rise above the din and distractions of time-bound living and breathe the rarified air of forever – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When you feel in the gaze of God that He has released His heart to you – as if for a fleeting second that you’re the only person on the planet that matters – that’s a Lovely Moment.
When you find yourself delighted with the realization that you’ve waited your whole life for this (whatever “this” is), and it was worth the wait – that’s a Lovely Moment.
My prayer for you is not that you would experience those Lovely Moments. It’s that when they are happening all around you, you would take the time to breathe with them. Dance with them. Embrace them.
And by all means… offer them to others.