31 Days of Looking for the Little: Shared Moments of Delight — a Guest Post!

One of the sweetest things about this internet world is the connections that can be made — connections across time and distance, life experience and life stage. One of my dearest ‘finds’ has been Kelly Chripczuk, who writes beautiful words over at “A Field of Wildflowers.” Turns out she is a licensed pastor in the same denomination in which my husband was raised and with whom we served in Africa over forty years ago. She wrote this sweet, small piece and asked if I thought it might fit in with this 31-Day series. YES, indeed, it does! Delightfully. Thank you so much, Kelly.
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Kelly Chripczuk is a Spiritual Director, Writer and Speaker who lives in Central Pennsylvania with her husband and four kids.  She writes and speaks on the topics of identity, anxiety, transition and the practice of noticing and receiving the love of God in the midst of daily life.  You can find her blogging at www.afieldofwildflowers.blogspot.com or follow her on facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/AFieldOfWildFlowers.
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It’s a rare Sunday evening with no school on Monday.  To celebrate, we’re having a “pizza party” in the living room, the six of us gathered around the lap top with paper plates filled with pizza and chips.  The older kids, my husband and I line up along the old leather couch and the three-year-old twins sit in front of us in little plastic chairs, their plates resting on the old scarred piano bench. 

The kids watch the movie and my husband I alternate between watching the movie and watching our children.  We share looks over their heads as entertained by their perceptions of the show as we are by the movie itself.  Then this little exchange, so precious and sweet, takes place between the twins:

“Yours yummy?”  Isaiah asks, holding a sour cream and onion potato chip in one hand, his faced turned toward his brother who doesn’t hear him.

“Yours yummy, Yevi?” he persists, raising his already loud little boy voice and replacing the unpronounceable “L” of Levi with a “y.”

“Huh?” his brother finally replies, turning to look him in the eye.

“Yours yummy?” Isaiah wants to know.

“Yeah, yummy!” Levi replies with unmistakable enthusiasm.  “Sometimes me dip it on my pizza like this,” he adds, demonstrating his method of scraping a chip across the top layer of pizza.

“Yeah,” says Isaiah, turning back to the show with the satisfaction of their shared pleasure evident in his voice. 

Witnessing this from behind, my husband I smile with our hands over our mouths, our hearts savoring the bond of companionship so deep, so sweet, in ones so little.  We’re delighted by their delight, our hearts awakened to joy through this small moment of pleasure shared.

 

What small moments of delight have you experienced lately?  

Just Wondering

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Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing this small moment of joy with us. It is so easy to miss and rush right past such moments especially with young children Thankyou for including the details that the room was a bit messy and you were eating pizza and chips. It is helpful to me to see you relax and enjoy the good in what you are able to do instead of trying to make something different fit when it doesn’t really. I hope this makes some kind of sense.

    thank you for sharing.
    bless you,
    Susan

    • With four children “doing what we’re able to do” is becoming a way of life and I think it actually is a gift because it does really free us up to BE in these moments. I’m so thankful for the gift of being able to actually “see” my kids because I know this is something so many people regret later in life. Thanks for commenting, Susan.

  2. I love this part so much! “our hearts savoring the bond of companionship so deep, so sweet, in ones so little. We’re delighted by their delight, our hearts awakened to joy through this small moment of pleasure shared.”

  3. Oh, this brought back sweet memories of my own children sharing those seemingly insignificant moments which stay forever in our hearts and minds. The “little” is the best!
    Blessings!

    • I like to think of the “little,” Martha as being like gathering manna, something to be found and savored every day, every moment. Thanks for commenting 🙂

  4. Thanks, Kelly, for sending this wonderful, small story to me – I’m honored that you’re here today.

  5. Thank you for welcoming me, Diana. It’s good to be with you.