The Campfire Is CallingSample

The Things We Shouldn't Miss

The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being.

ROMANS 1:20 THE MESSAGE

Sometimes in the darkest, loneliest times of our lives, God chooses a uniquely personal way to remind us He is near. If we look for Him in the simple things, we’ll learn to see Him in everything. For some of us it might be spotting a favorite bird or seeing a favorite flower. For others it might be an unexpected conversation that brings the words we need to hear. And sometimes God wraps His love around us in the awe of a beautiful sunset.

One thing is beyond any doubt—God is tender and thoughtful, and He’s keenly aware of what we’re going through. There’s no greater reason to slow down and live a simple life than to understand what we’re missing if we don’t. We miss the birds, the flowers, and the sunsets. We rush through conversations, dinners, and visits, missing the things God wants us to hear or say. We miss learning what makes our children laugh or what lights up their eyes and fuels their dreams. If we don’t pace our lives to allow time for the simple things that bring us the deepest joy, we miss too much of what God has for us. Everything He has for us is all about His love for us. It’s an endless, powerful, unbreakable love that is ours without any condition. We can’t run from it, no matter how fast our lives are speeding past. We can, however, change our pace and notice it more. God’s love is not difficult to see or hard to find. He would never make it that way. It’s here, right now, in every simple, good thing in our lives.

Dear God, Your love is in every created thing and in the good things You want me to slow down to see. Make what’s most important to You clearer to me every day.