The Simple Joys of Life

Posted by Anna

Oh, the simple joys of life: a tiny flower, a friendly smile, a hidden sea shell, a baby's giggle, a funny comment... So often we can become too busy to even notice these little gestures of loving touches from our heavenly Father, and forget that Life is made up of little things. Sure, the big moments come, the magnificent appearances of God's hand working in our lives. But all to soon our focus can get so caught up in "the big things" that we fail to see the flutter of a butterfly, or rejoice with a young one as their discovery of the insect zoo in the back yard has just emerged.

Elisabeth and I have started a collection of some of the small funny things our siblings have either done or said, and as we are logging them for our own keepsakes, we thought it would be a delight to share some of them with you. Right along are some simple shots that have been collected through the years that may bring a smile to your day just as they have ours. We hope you enjoy these simple joys of life that we have captured just as much as we have :)

~ Papa, Josiah and Joshua were going to help some family friends move, so they were hitching up the trailer. Joshua (age 6) was guiding Papa in, "Come, come, STOP!" Papa jumped out of our van and proceeded to give a few more instructions as in how to guide to the left. So Joshua was again guiding when, suddenly, there was a bang and Joshua shouted a little bewildered, "Papa, you crashed!" ~

~ We were just finishing a delicious, late breakfast/early lunch consisting of Papa's specialty waffles when Joseph (3 years old) started to describe how full he was to one of his sisters. "Bibbi (Elisabeth), I hah wopples down mine dummy, an wopples down mine back." ~

~ The rest of us were just finishing dinner and about ready for dessert when little Joshua (about 3) who still had not finished said, "Mama, tan you take thumb uh mine food?" "No." Mama replied, "You must eat it." Well, since that didn't work, he tried something else. All his food was scraped onto the table beside his plate. "Look Mommy. Now may I hah thumb dithurt?" A little chuckle, then, "No, put your food back on your plate and eat it." Mama said. Now a little more in urgency from seeing the dessert that Papa had, Joshua gave it one last try. "Mama, tan you path me your plate?" intending to empty the content of his plate onto hers. ~

~ We were gathered around the lunch table , yet still waiting on a few to come. Joseph (age 4-1/2) had gotten to the end of himself and thought that he could no longer wait till after the prayer to eat. He looked at his big sister, Elisabeth, and with eyes filled with tears and a quivering voice said, "Elisabeth, I'm going to Die!" Elisabeth was a little amused and tried to comfort him, "Oh, I think you'll be fine, it won't be too long." "But, I'm going to DIE!" came an emphatic wail. "Well," she said with a slight grin, "would you like to go lie down on your bed and die there, or die here at the table?" He looked a little perplexed and, obviously trying to hide the fact that he was a little amused, said again a little quieter, "I'm going to die." -- The prayer was finished and all were beginning to partake of the meal. Elisabeth looked over at the little guy and said, "You can eat now!" He sat there with a scowl on his face as he said, "I'm waiting until I can be happy." "Oh? Okay!" she replied rather intrigued with his self control. "That's fine. When will you be happy?" "In about 5 minutes." he answered. She quickly glanced at her watch. Ten minutes later she felt a pat on her arm and a cheerful  voice call up, "Elisabeth, I'm happy now!" ~

~ It was during school time and many of the children were not being focused on their work. Mama, the teacher, said, "I may need the paddle for those of you who aren't paying attention." 2-1/2 year old Sarah piped up, "I'm not paying attention!" ~

~ Dinner was almost over and there was one more corncob left. Several were discussing who should get it when 2-1/2 year old Sarah chimed in, "Djathsua, you tan hah mine!" she said as she offered Joshua her mostly, but not all the way, eaten corncob, then quickly points to the last, juicy one and said in a quieter voice, "Then I tan hah dat one!" ~

~ Our newest little family addition, Daniel Nehemiah, was laying on the bed beside Mama who was enjoying the company of us older ones a few days after the birth. Sarah (3) toddled in and climbed up onto the bed beside Mama, then, in the most matter-of-fact way asked very directly, "Now where's my baby?!" Mama, thinking that she was asking about her baby doll, stated, "Well, I don't know. Where is your baby?" Sarah, not satisfied with that probe, started  looking around the bed. As soon as she spotted Daniel, she triumphantly announced: "There's my baby!" Then in the most tender way she could, she quietly said, "That's my favorite kind." ~

~ Most of us girls were out at a thrift store shopping for shoes. Following her older sisters' example of trying different pairs of shoes on, Sarah (3) went to the task of testing out all the pairs of shoes she could reach. Upon retrieving a pair of women's high heals, she decided to see how they would feel while walking in them. With her feet way up at the top of the shoes (to keep them on), she started attempting to make progress down the isle. Little did she realize that these shoes had a zip tie holding them together which resulted in a catastrophe every time she tried to take a step... One foot would try to take a step, and the other would unwillingly, but voluntarily follow which would automatically result in a ground-level seat. She tried it again, but the same thing happened. Finally, after several tries, Sarah, feeling a little defeated and confused, looked up at Mama and said in a very irritated tone of voice, "These shoes will NOT GO!!!" ~

~ Laura (14) was working on the church bus when one of the girls riding declared that she was bored. One of the other bus workers asked if she had any crushes (you know, the guy/girl kind). She said that she did not. Then the same bus worker turned to Laura and asked if she had any. Thinking that the worker had said "crutches", Laura replied, "No, I didn't have room for them so I gave them away." ~

~ Five-year-old Joseph was in Mama's room very early one morning. Mama told him to go and have his devotions. A few minutes later he returned with a confident grin. "Mama, I read the whole New Testament really fast!" Mama replied, "Well, that must have been pretty quick. Did God speak to you?" Joseph responded, "Yep! it was about Joseph was a king and they put him in prison, but before they locked the doors, he ran out and got a sword!" ~

~ We were all eating dinner at the table and Joseph (age 6) was announcing his being able to overcome his dislike for beans. As he was finishing up a few more bites on his plate, Sarah (age 4) looked over and, noticing his progress, very encouragingly said, "Joseph, Good Job!" Without any hesitation, Joseph very emphatically responded, "That just blesses my heart!" ~

~ Laura (16) was soaking her clarinet reed when Caleb (8) came up to her and asked what she was doing. She told him that she was getting ready to practice and was soaking her clarinet reed so she could play her clarinet. His curiosity was perked and he asked her if she could play the clarinet without the reed. She explained that she could not, and proceeded with a visible demonstration. Joseph, upon coming in for his violin practice with me (Anna), happened to hear Caleb's inquiries and Laura's demonstrations. After observing Laura try several ways to play the instrument without the reed in place, and to no avail, Joseph (6) inquisitively exclaimed, "Did that run out of batteries?!" ~

If any of you would like to share some of your simple joys of life, we would be delighted to hear! Either post a comment on this post, or you can send it in by dropping us a note throughout the "Drop Us A Note" in the left sidebar. Thank you for reading and may you be blessed as you see the little things that bring delight to your heart!

"Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let thy works appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children." 

~ Psalm 90:12,14,16 ~