The Goodness of God

We had a good day. An ordinary day. I went to knitting group. Mr. FixIt and I headed to town in the afternoon for a checkup and got an excellent report. I waited in the truck in the shade and knitted, dreamily watching the clouds drift by from my perch on the hill.

There’s always a little shopping to do. And a little eating. When we got home, we watched the news and as 8:00 rolled around, I headed out to the camper to write. But first, I took my phone down and sat in the path between two of the pollinator gardens and waited.

After a bit, I heard deer in the hedgerow around the far field and it wasn’t long till a little doe came out, watching me curiously. She cautiously approach, stomping her front leg and blowing air forcefully through her nose to warn me how big and bad she was. I sat stock still and filmed her dance…forward, stop, stomp, romp around the field kicking up her heels, repeat. It was delightful.

When she moved on to the creek, I got up to see if any other critters had come out to join me. There, just around the bend sat a beautiful box turtle, head held high in the air, motionless, trying to be invisible. I visited with it for a while, then I went on around to the other side of the garden.

As dusk settled in, I lay prone on the ground with my camera…preparing for the rising of the lightning bugs. They didn’t disappoint and I was enthralled watching them leaving light trails as they rose and fell.

The enormity of the peace I felt in my chest spread to the lump in my throat. I nearly missed all of this. So many times I’ve been at crossroads that could have taken me in any number of directions…including an early death. Each decision, each mistake, each achievement…all of it brought me here.

There are so many terrible things going on in the world right now. Things that need to be fixed. Things that need to be changed. Things that need our attention and things thrown in our way just to steal our attention from the important things in life.

Yes…there is bad stuff. Yes…there is evil. But there are SO many who want you to see only the bad things and forget about all the good. There is SO much good in the world. They may not be shouting about it on the front pages or the news desks, but it’s there. Don’t give up! You’re important in this story. You have a huge role to play in this world.

In the field of quantum physics, it is believed that you taking a breath in this moment affects a molecule at the edge of a galaxy a gazillion light years away. We may be infinitesimally small in the grand scheme of things, but every single heartbeat is important. YOU are important! YOU can affect changes that only YOU were put on this earth to accomplish. Maybe your assignment was to help that young woman who was struggling in 1974. Maybe it was the degree you attained to make a difference to scores of people. Maybe it was nothing more than to lay on your belly in a field of daisies and photograph a picturesque turtle or a dancing deer.

The thing is…we don’t know what assignments we may receive. Wouldn’t it be a shame if you left us before you got the chance to do that one thing God made you for?