Toward the end of his meal this evening, the Happy Buddy started to get restless. Sitting in his highchair I could tell that we were about to have a battle – which usually consists of the Happy Buddy getting bored with the food in front of him so he starts throwing it on the floor. I needed a diversion! Something to distract the Happy Buddy from destroying the newly vaccuumed floors! Looking around the kitchen, I grabbed a tub of bubbles, unscrewed the lid, pulled out the wand, and began blowing. There were hundreds of bubbles all over the kitchen in a matter of seconds! The Happy Buddy’s eyes grew wide with delight. He was mesmerized. Whenever I stopped to take a breath or reload the wand, he would look at me with great expectation. He was so excited for more magic!
As I looked at our boy, all bright-eyed and eager for me to blow bubbles for him, I thought about my faith. God, in a fun manner of speaking, blows bubbles for us every day! He is always giving us blessings and little joys as a reminder of His love for us, but we have to have the eyes to see them. Some days I can mope around all miserable and lonely and completely miss out on the bubbles that God has sent my way. How much better is it if I adopt the Happy Buddy’s wide-eyed, expectant faith that the magic will come??
When the Happy Hubby and I were trying to get pregnant and doctor after doctor told us that it would never happen without medical intervention, a friend of mine gave me a magnet that said “Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that He will!” That magnet helped me to see that I could seek God with the expecation that He would blow bubbles into our otherwise dismal situation. I could choose to be depressed about our circumstance or, without making any specific assumptions, I could start looking to my Father with an eagerness that magic WOULD happen!
Even as the years rolled by and no baby came, God filled my life with bubbles. Big bubbles like my husband and I growing closer, my times with the Lord growing more and more intimate and satisfying, and enjoying my career as a second grade teacher, as well as smaller bubbles like the bit of encouragement I could give a friend going through a similar situation. I found that the more my eyes were open to the good things – the bubbles – and I kept seeking God as the One who would be my provider, my heart was content. It became more about His will as opposed to mine. Afterall, He is in control of the bubble wand. If I had given the bubbles to the Happy Buddy to blow… yikes! That mess would have been worse than our highchair food battles. 🙂
So we enjoyed the bubbles God blew and we kept looking to Him in anticipation for more.
The Happy Buddy was born on July 3, 2009. We didn’t just get bubbles that day, we got real-life FIREWORKS outside our hospital bedroom as we ooed and ahhed over our baby boy.
Now that’s magic!
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
Wow I came across this on the fb feed, just what I needed to read this week this day, we went through similar situation only with having a second child, God came through not only once but even 9 mo after the second I was pregnant with our third and 9 mon and 6 weeks later I’m watching her sleep in the swing. God is good, but not why needed this this time, but diffrent situation. Looking Forward coming out on the other side seeing how God worked it out even already we have seen a small part. I don’t know how or when what lies ahead but like you wrote your friend told you what faith means I’m going hold onto that.
Thank you Julie for your wise words! You have no idea how Jesus has used your words to minister to me today! I needed them sooo much! Love you and appreciating the bubbles I do have in my life….you are one of them :)) xoxoxo
My life is full of God bubbles because of you, honey. Even if I never got another bubble in my life, you’re enough to make my life glitter magical. =)
Love you!