Simple Pleasures





A Daffodil (my birth flower) from my Daddy's garden. My mom took the picture.

   Simple Pleasures. I sighed just a little bit when I typed those two words. Many things come to mind...hot apple cider, curling up with a book on a rainy afternoon, a trip to the library, fuzzy socks, the smell of lemons...sushi...sorry, It's been awhile since I've been to my favorite sushi joint. 

We all have things in life that just the mere thought of them make us sigh with pure delight. I am grateful for the little blessings that come through my life each day. Some of them are just pure fun.  Like flip flops. I adore flip flops. Especially flip flops from Old Navy. Flip Flops and the wearing of them make me smile.

Other Simple Pleasures come from experiences in life that make us grateful for the start of another day. 14 years ago today I was in a major head-on collision. I crushed my left hip, broke my right hip, fractured my pelvis, sternum and a number of ribs. The seatbelt moved my right breast under my arm and shifted my collar bone to the left.  I suffered a heart contusion....Hmm. Just even looking at that list makes me catch my breath. I went into shock and my blood pressure fluctuated dangerously...for several days I struggled for my very life. Ouch.

 That kind of experience can't help but affect a person the rest of his or her life. I never anticipated the life long issues I would carry just because of something that happened in a split second on a rain-covered road. The next several years were tough. I had to learn to walk again. I struggled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I experienced survivor's guilt. I have a memory of being in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit of The Med in Memphis that still haunts me. I can remember hearing a  Doctor telling a young woman who had similar injuries to mine that it was okay to go "home." Home being heaven. She did go "Home." Why was I spared? It was difficult adjusting to my new "normal." 

So what are my Simple Pleasures?  Certainly all those things I listed...I am not hard to please, mostly ever!. But I can tell you that over the years my simple pleasures are ones that most people take for granted. I can remember lying in my hospital bed thinking about cleaning my house. Now most of us would rejoice in an excuse not to clean the house...me included. But, I think  at that moment I realized how difficult that mundane ritual was going to be for me. It is still hard for me...but, hey!  I have a good excuse.  "Honey, I am sorry the bathroom looks like a toxic waste dump...my hip is really bothering me today."  I get a lot of mileage out of that one.

Life changing experiences like mine don't inoculate me from taking things for granted. God still reminds me daily of His blessings. I still get overwhelmed with day to day living. The bills, the housework, the homeschooling, the car...today it is my car. But overwhelmingly He has shown me that He does not fail. That He is Faithful! So on this day...I choose to count His Faithfulness as a Simple Pleasure. And rest in Him. This morning when I got up I fixed myself a cup of something hot and chocolately (is that word?), took a warm bath, lite my favorite pumpkin candle and promised God again...that today I would not take this life He has given me for granted. He is Faithful!

Lamentations 3:22-24

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."