KeziahCarrie

                 A few times a week, as my feet slide down over the cool crisp silky sheets on our bed, my husband and son will hear me exclaim: “I LOVE CLEAN SHEETS!”  They will either laugh and agree or roll their eyes and say, “We know! We know you do!”             

          Maybe it’s because we have two small dogs in our home that believe anywhere they can jump, squeeze into, or find large enough to lay down on, is their own personal domain.  Or, maybe it’s because of mornings when work, school, soccer or basketball games override the necessity to make the bed. 

          Whatever the reason, clean sheets provide one of my greatest delights.  I just love clean sheets!  If you’ve never tried to find the fun in that, sleep on some tonight, and you’ll see what I mean.  What better way to end a long hard day than with something fresh and clean and, oh, so comfortable?

            Then there is the smell of my son’s hair…preferably after a shower…not immediately following a soccer or basketball game.  But you know that deep inhale you take that is a part of some sort of primal parenting.   A  friend explains it a bit better when she says:  “You could just sop him up with a biscuit.” Yes, it’s the hint of a scent only a parent could truly appreciate.  Of course, those of you who aren’t parents might try grabbing up a baby (preferably one you know) and just breathing in the smell of Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo.  Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of innocence.

            I love the first bite of a pizza, the last bite of an ice cream cone and the satisfying experience that comes with pulling a succulent crab leg all the way out of its shell without breaking it.  Our family will fight over that last one.  I love to hear my husband’s voice on the other end of the phone when he calls for my opinion, my advice or just to tell me about his latest adventure.   I love watching the daughter, we adopted at age 15, now playing with her own child.   I see what can only be described as mother love.   

            I love the excitement that explodes inside the car when my son jumps in after school with his bulging backpack, busting a gut to tell me all about his day.   I love to stand on the top of snow-covered mountains, squish sand between my toes at the beach, I love an outdoor cafe in the spring and fall, the wind, the rain and the surf.  I love, about as much as anything, to bury my face in the neck of a horse and just savor every second.   I love campfires, kayaking, and puppy breath.  And, I love the sound of crickets chirping late at night as I sit on the front porch swing and take it all in.

            Don’t get me wrong.  I like beautiful clothes, big houses, fast cars, large paychecks and all the other trappings of our material world.  But it’s just girl talk.  I’d love to know… what are the things that you really truly love?  

          Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  

James 1:17 NIV

I like the way Author Max Lucado sums it up in the line of a poem from his book He Chose the Nails: 

“Why give a flower fragrance?  Why give food its taste?

Could it be

He loves to see

That look upon your face?”