kisses blown from Heaven

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I feel like God blows me kisses sometimes; various little reminders of His love for me that He sneakily plants right in plain sight throughout nature.

Every morning, on my way to work, I pass multiple locations with vines of Morning Glory welcoming me to the new day. At first, I didn't realize what they were, and I was so disappointed in the evenings when I couldn't show Brad the beautiful flowers God had given me. My first explanation was that these specific gifts must be intended for only me. Upon some further research, I learned that morning glories only last the few hours of the morning, why is why I can only spot them during my morning commute. (However, I still like to believe they're for only me, regardless.)

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Brad did finally witness this particular display of His glory on our way to church this past Sunday Morning. How cool of God to bless us with some beauty to make the start of each day even better!? He totally knows that I need some pick-me-ups in the mornings.

Another random gift that He sends my way on a regular basis is turkeys. Now, I know this is really weird, but there is this rafter (that's actually what you call them) of turkeys that seem to live in the back yard of a house located along my route to and from work. They aren't visible every day, but it has become a sort of treasure hunt for me to find them, making my daily commute much more exciting.

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Some days I only see one or two, and some days I see the entire rafter! (Seriously, such a weird word.) I've even seen the big Toms spreading out their big feathers to impress the ladies, I've enjoyd observing the babies getting bigger. I know this seems silly, but every time I see one, a couple, or a whole lot of them, I always thank God for sending little treasures into my path.

Butterflies are something that are very specific to my personal relationship with God. I don't get them (technically, see them, but I feel like they're a gift, so I consider it receiving them) very often, but the times that I do are precisely when I need them the most. God sends a butterfly my way when I'm especially sad or lonely or scared or distracted with worldly things. They are kisses that He blows my direction in order to let me know He's here with me and He loves me and everything will be fine. To me, they serve as the most obvious physical reminder of God's presence in my life.

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For my husband, that Brad-specific nudge from God comes in the form of a deer. He has some awesome stories of spending time in prayer during hikes and having a deer walk right up to him and stay there for a long time, just staring at him and then just hanging out right around him. There are so many times when God has sent Brad a deer when he most needs a heavenly reminder.

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The other day, Brad and I were heading to a nearby state park to go for a walk/jog on the paved, shaded, 2-mile trail around the lake. This is one of our favorite places to exercise together. This particular evening, on the way there, we saw a whole field of deer, followed by a ton of turkeys, then a bunch of ducks on the water's edge. I took all of those gifts as blessings upon our time spent together and upon our work out. (For some reason, Satan really attacks me in this area, and I genuinely pray for protection from his lies when I'm about to enter into a time of exercise.)

Brad and I enjoyed wonderful, meaningful conversation during the first mile, but as soon as we passed the half-way point, a siren sounded signalling that the park would close soon. In order to make it out in time, we had to jog the remainder of the distance. It was an entire mile either way we went, and up to this point, I had never ran that far of a distance but once or twice on a treadmill. However, I absolutely did not want to get locked into the park. So I did the only thing I coudl do; I ran alongside my husband; and alongside my Creator.

I finally understood why He gave me so many bold signals of His presence in the beginning of the evening, and I used that awareness to motivate me to run. It was as we crossed over the bridge about a half-mile in that I thought I couldn't go anymore, and He sent a crane to swoop over the water at that exact minute. As I was jogging into the final quarter mile, I sang children's Bible songs in my head to keep pace as well as distract me from the pain in my lungs and the nasty sweat dripping down my face. (We had just taught 2-year-olds at Bible class the night before, so they were fresh in my mind.)

We finally made it back to the entrance, and do you know what God gave me?? Right there, in the middle of the walkway was a little doe just sauntering around. Through my huffs and puffs, I panted to Brad, "That's for me! Most deer He sends are for you, but that baby one right there is for me! He knew I'd need one after that!" (By the way, we made it back to the car with only three minutes to spare!)

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God definitely knows me. Afterall, He created me. I truly believe that He speaks to all of us in our own personal ways. We just have to allow ourselves to be receptive to His unique form of communication in our lives.

What form do the kisses that He blows your way take?