It is warm. The fall sun still has enough heat to warm me as the early afternoon breeze whips around the side of my house.
My world is still. A few clicks of a nearby grasshopper and the rattle of vacant swings are the only sounds keeping my thoughts company.
I let the fall air fill my soul. I soak it up knowing that I will wear it like perfume when I return to the rest of my day. The scent of recess. A break. A back porch time out.
Almost twenty years ago, I enjoyed spending my after-lunch recess a lot like this. While others played tag or climbed on the monkey bars, I spent my time mostly alone in the grassless lot adjacent to the school yard.
The area was still fenced in, but few had reason to venture out there.
But I knew that just past the place where the playground ends, there was a field full of a nine-year old girl’s treasure.
It was swarming with ladybugs.
There were hundreds of them. Bright red bugs busily climbing and eating and exploring… just waiting to be gathered. You could barely walk without stepping on them.
I also quickly discovered that my empty apple juice cup with tin foil lid was perfect for collecting them.
Day after day, I would go out and collect cups full of ladybugs… and the next day there were always more.
A gift. And as I sit and think about the fields of overlooked treasure, I wonder what other gifts the Lord has for me…
And then I hear Him say, “Imagine what treasure waits in undiscovered fields of grace.”
And my heart is overwhelmed by this truth.
Grace… just waiting to be gathered.
Grace so effortlessly available, but often adjacent to where I spend my time.
Grace that is immeasurable. I can collect as much as I want, but tomorrow promises to have more.
Grace that abounds.
Such a simple memory. Such a beautiful truth… but in this moment, I am reminded again… that He loves me. His desires to lead me. He desires to reveal Himself to me throughout my day…
His Love is enough. His goodness is forever. And I choose to spend today in His endless fields of Grace.
