Baby Squash and God's Mercy

I just laid our sweet son down for an afternoon nap after a morning of eating, playing, and sleeping  (Bruce likes his sleep :)). When we play these days, baby gate is in position and dog toys are out of reach. Bruce is in to everything, crawling, pulling up on things, and everything he finds goes into his mouth. Just yesterday he pulled himself up onto the dog bowl (which is elevated about 16 inches) and tipped the whole thing over onto himself. Water poured/splashed over his face and clothes. The poor thing was sputtering and crying - shocked from the cold water burst. And this is the 3rd time this has happened! Needless to say, Emmitt eats in the basement now.

Emmitt is such a trooper. Thankfully he tolerates Bruce well :)

Socks? Check. Diaper? Check. Clothes? In the dryer from the monsoon!

We ate squash, peas, and strawberries for lunch while we listened to a Brooke Fraser station on Pandora. Strawberries are our favorite; sometimes we don't like the consistency of peas and like to gag and then laugh - because it was funny, of course, that we gagged.

It's been an especially sweet morning, not because of any special circumstances, but because the Lord has opened my eyes to the many blessings he's surrounded me with. He's reminded me that my hope is in Him, and when the things in this life fail - he remains. It hit me as I was feeding Bruce. Mid-bite (mouth full of yellow mush) he's screaming that shrill baby-scream out of sheer joy, and my heart melted.

Just look at this sweet baby face! How can your heart not melt??

Psalm 131 says this :

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high;

 I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. 

But I have calmed and quieted my soul, 

like a weaned child with its mother;

 like a weaned child is my soul within me.

 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. 

 Thanks be to Him who gives us an everlasting and unfailing peace to enjoy and endure the ups and downs of each day. We have this freedom not because of anything we've done or due to our outside circumstances, but because of Christ's death on the cross on our behalf. I love the psalm above. It's a good reminder for me not to "occupy myself" with things that are not for me to worry about, things "too great and too marvelous for me". Instead, it's a call to calm and quiet my soul. But how?  The last verse is my answer : hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. 

This life is certainly full of troubles and sufferings. Life is hard, and the sin and brokenness all around and within us is evidence of that. "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:5-7). 

We have a hope that will never fail! Amen and amen.