Yesterday....after a long, tiring, yet rejuvenating  day trip to Iasi, Romania. I, for the first time in months, felt like I could truly reflect on all of the beauty God has placed in my life....I had gotten so busy and stressed with the day to day....that I forgot to soak up every moment.  I forgot to slow my mind and my heart down and truly embrace the here and now....that God is giving me....every single moment is a here and now.  It was like for just a moment, the film was removed from my eyes and I could see the ethereal beauty of His creation all around me....and my heart was so full...I was reminded of all of the special people God has placed in my life...in my family here in Moldova.  I am so incredibly grateful.  Here are the things I thought:

Sometimes moments overwhelm me-they literally take my breath away- and I find myself grasping at them wanting to soak up every single detail of the moment before it slips from my clumsy fingertips. The details....the sunset shining in and through someone's smile....the warmth in their eyes as they shoulder a friend's head to allow them to sleep on a long journey...the green rolling hills of Moldova dancing in the background of every moment...dotted with earth so rich and dark....special smiles that I am beginning to decipher or the way they use their eyes to communicate so much...sweet eyelids slowly blinking to let me know the answer is a definite yes to the question "do you want chocolate?"

Time stand still-please don't let me rush through another day- let me notice the tiny scars on beloved hands and remember the stories that brought them there...let me look at the radiant faces and hands stained red with cherry juices from the hundreds of cherries they have lovingly pitted to store up for the winter.  

Let me remember every little hand (or bigger hand) as it reaches for mine and gently entwines fingers in a show of supreme love and acceptance.  

Let me never forget: the honey colored wheat fields gently swaying and dancing and looking like a blanket of feathery gentleness-inviting us all in.  The sunflowers and the privilege of watching them grow taller and stronger and prouder...and watching them daily turn their heads to the sun.  

Oh Lord, etch in my heart brown eyes with chocolaty flecks of mischief mixed with honey and warmth.  Green eyes the color of Moldovan forests right after the rain-proud and reminiscent of all that is lovely. Beaming smiles with dimples so deep to hide more joy. Long eyelashes that softly brush sunkissed cheeks as they sleep on the long and bumpy ride in from the village.

Riding down dusty country roads in an air condition-less van, windows rolled down.  Our hair beating our faces.  Singing bits of all of our favorite Romanian hymns loud and off key--but feeling His divine presence and His love in a real and tangible way.  Laughing....belly laughing....about nothing at all.

Using the two arms that the good Lord gave me to just hold on...to hold on to dry tears, to remove sadness, to pray over broken hearts, to show love....to pray that God would just continue to use this weak and imperfect vessel to show His love and His warmth.  Lord don't let me forget the privilege that it is to dry tears, to celebrate successes of all sizes, to dream for someone else's future.  Lord don't let me stop being thankful for the parents who gave life to all of these beautiful faces around me.  

I never want to forget conspiratorial sharing of secret stashes of Reese's.  Sweating in a hot little kitchen while the strawberry cake or muffins of whatever delicious baked good we have attempted cooks and fills the house with its delightful aroma and promises of goodness to come.

Lord...open my eyes to the here and now.  The last few months in Moldova have been busy and tough...but God reminded me of all of the sweetness in the midst of hard times.