Don't let the difficulties of the present moments overshadow the reality of God's promises. God's promises still stand. And God's promises are stronger than our failures.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Moments of Grace

At church Sunday we sat by a young family I'd not met before.  We go to a praise service which basically means it's pretty laid back....dress up or dress down, bring the kids and your coffee and just come worship.  A beautiful little girl sat next me - one empty seat between us.  I smiled and said hello, she ducked her head and looked up at me.  We connected.  In our own way.  Without words really.

During the songs at the beginning of the service she was busy decorating a foam cross.  She sat on the floor as if she were in her play clothes instead of the darling peach colored dress with matching hair ribbons and white mary janes with sparkly bows that her mother had so lovingly put on her that morning.  At the end of one of the songs I leaned down and whispered, "I love your cross...you do beautiful work!"  She smiled and continued her labor.  When she finished it she scooted down by me and handed it to me...."I made it for you."


I held it to my heart and said thank you.  And then I handed her a pen and asked her to write her name so I could remember it forever.


Emma....a precious gift from God.  I guess since I was so appreciative she dug in her striped "busy bag" (one of several I'd made the year before that are kept in the sanctuary for the children) and colored two pictures; one was for me and the other for her mother.  I'm sure her mother has many works of art on her refrigerator but I only have one right now.  Don't you love moments of connection like that...she had no idea I'd made the bag filled with activities for her.


I love moments of grace when God gives us something we don't even know we need.

24 comments:

Shari said...

A lovely moment...thanks for sharing.

Julie Fukuda said...

Leave it to a kid .....

Grammasheri said...

Wonderful story. So glad you shared it.

Jeanie said...

Tender sweet. You were certainly blessed with a new friend.

Sandy D said...

What a great story.

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

You are blessed; thank you for sharing this special, sacred, story.

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Awe how sweet. Great idea to make little bags to keep small ones entertained during church.

Needled Mom said...

That is such a sweet story. I could picture Emma in my mind.

Barb said...

That is so sweet!!

Karen said...

Just wonderful....from the heart of a child!!...nothing more precious!!

KatieQ said...

I can't think of a better way to see the value of the time you devoted to making the bags.

KaHolly said...

Sweet little story! Thank you for sharing!

Sherrill said...

Oh, I just LOVE that! Thank you for sharing with all of us!

Lori @ Back Porch Ramblings said...

Such sweet moments. :)

Michelle May-The Raspberry Rabbits said...

So incredibly awesome! Love this story dear friend. Made me smile so very big! :) :) :)

Quiltgal said...

What a delightful post.

Vickie said...

What a sweet connection, so glad you wrote about it.

FlourishingPalms said...

This is so sweet! I'm feeling a little teary after reading this. Yes, you made a connection, and I hope it's one that will last. You'll have to let us know if you see her next Sunday too.

Chris said...

What a lovely present given with love...love your blog and all your quilting.
Blessings Chris

Michele said...

Oh such a sweet story. It warmed my heart.

Carrie P. said...

how precious!

Tracy P. said...

That is SO sweet! It really does happen from time to time that a gift we thought WE were giving does a little boomerang move and turns out to be a gift for us. TRULY grace.

Sparky said...

hearte

BarbCarol said...

Stop it, Marnie...you're making me miss teaching elementary school.