The other night, right after the boys had gone to bed, I was making the rounds throughout the house tidying up our normal clutter, when I heard Isabelle laughing. It wasn't her normal giggle. It was the full on belly laugh; the one that makes her whole body shake, her head tilt back and the giggle that continues on for longer than I can hold my breath. Indeed, she was having a good ol' time with something.
I went to investigate and as I got closer I saw her standing less than 2 inches from our family room Christmas tree. Now Isabelle and I have had some good conversations about this tree. See, one of her favorite things to do is to pull the Christmas bulbs off the tree, and throw them on the ground. I see her justification, I do. "But Mommy, I thought they were balls. They look like balls and I can play with balls. Why can't I play with these? They are even extra pretty balls that I can't resist" I see her point. I do, it's just that we still don't agree. "Sorry Belle, Mom's Christmas ornaments are NOT balls and we do NOT touch mommies pretties. No NO!"
So, as you can imagine, when I saw her face pressed right up against the tree, you can guess what my first thought was. "Oh, we're playing this game again." And just as I was about to say in my firm voice, "Isabelle, NO NO!", I stopped, and took a few more steps closer to see better what she was doing.
That's when my heart melted. Although her face was less than 2 inches from the bulb, her hands were at her sides making sure she wasn't touching anything. With her body bent forward, she was looking at the shiny silver Christmas bulb glistening back her reflection. And in that distorted reflection, she was amazed not only that she could see herself, but that it was a funny looking self-portrait. That my friends, is the reason for her all out belly laugh which shook her whole body with delight.
It was contagious. I couldn't help myself. As her tiny body shook with each and every giggle that left her body, my eyes cried happy tears and my heart gushed love.
There are many times in my daily life that I can see God's hand at work.
Gentle reminders to give thanks for what we have been given.
Simple events as a sign to stop and recognize the gifts in the wonders of life.
And reflections...
Reflections to ponder the awe in something that has happened or to simply pause, soak in the moment and laugh about what is staring back at you.
This moment, while heart-melting and oh so precious, did just that for me.
Angie
No comments:
Post a Comment