who’s got better surprises that God?

i have a work friend, who every time you see him, greets you with “aloha, happy birthday!”.. accompanied with a super grin (sincere to boot, i might add).

anyway, his greeting, combined with the passing of my own birthday not too long ago, have had me thinking about birthdays, gifts and surprises.. that leading to the pondering over the ‘gifts’ and ’surprises’ we receive not only once a year, but every second of every day. and then i found this picture last night, that was taken about a year ago from my window, of my most favorite tree.

i looked at the photograph, at eleven o’ clock in the night, then rose and walked over to my living room window.
i stared at the profile and contrast of my beautiful tree against my favorite color sky.
i thought of the red-orange leaves that had recently began following me into my apartment, each time i entered, and how pretty they looked against the white tile floor in my entryway.
i thought of the night before, the brief observance of december’s crisper air, and the fun i had finding myself lost for a moment in play, watching my warm breath cloud out in puffs, before disappearing back into the atmosphere.

breath- something that is always there, invisible.. yet one season a year, when you get to see it, is like the first time.. and if you let it, will transport you to the memory of The free place you’ve never been to.. you know, the Homeplace. what an amazing gift!

but sometimes, do seasons and winters fly by, blending into years (plural form), and we never see our breath.. ??

breath.. reminds me of faith-
it’s life-sustaining.
it’s always there.
some say you have to know it’s there and you can feel it, just try.. but i believe, like missing the beauty of our breath tufts against the winter air (and simply the miracle that we breathe at all), sometimes years bleed into decades, decades into entire lives, and we still miss it..

faith- many might say it can’t be seen, but i disagree.. if you’re wondering why, please refer to above evidence, go outside and smell a flower, hold an infant, study your own hands for a few minutes, or just. take. a. breath..

sigh. (good sort sigh)

so, who’s got better surprises than God?

no, sir, it’s really not a question at all.

look around you. you may be surprised to see what you’ve missed with your open eyes (i know i was. wait- *looks around*-i still am!!). then enjoy your gifts, your surprises.. but meditate on these things as you enjoy-
these gifts and surprises, well, they’re really not yours, you see, but ours.. so share them with the person next to you, or verbally over the phone lines with a far away friend, jot them down in a journal, or use them as motivation to get out of bed in the morning, to create, to connect.. and in that prayer-time and meditation, may you find joy in the perfect truth that the greatest gift of all may be found in the sharing of it.

God, help me to remember this.

oh! and wherever you may be, aloha, happy birthday..and thank you.. for letting me share my (correction: our) sunrise.. with you!

xo,
ruby