that warm feeling you get in your heart :)

When I am ignored, my instinctive reaction is to feel hurt; it always has been.  For all you ‘men of steel’ out there, it is a valuable trait to be able to remain unphased and keep moving when you are ignored.  But, I suppose in everyone’s life there is bound to come a time when you meet others that don’t see eye-to-eye with you and you’ve got to reckon with that.  I don’t imagine that you ‘men of steel’ were always so ‘steely,’ so to speak.  I imagine you had to wrestle with that reality yourselves and came to a conclusion that allows you, today, to examine the situation carefully.  I imagine you can check yourself “how might I have offended this person?” and separate the unfair actions of others from any measurement of who you are.  Again, a valuable, valuable trait.

When someone does something thoughtful for me, my instinctive reaction is to feel appreciated and special.  Sometimes, I will even get a warm kind of feeling inside – honest!  Today I need to praise God for giving me one of those moments.  Today, after church, the Pastor and his wife showed me how to make a type of Mexican porkchop, a type of fried filet of chicken, and salsa!  (real salsa, a FAR, FAR cry from Tostitos or anything in that category.)  I have wanted to learn to make a variety of Mexican dishes since I’ve been here but haven’t ever had the chance.  Today was a blessing.  I wasn’t expecting it!  The Pastor took me through everything step by step and patiently allowed me to make nearly the whole meal by myself!  (Risky, haha!)  Everything turned out delicious, at least in my opinion.  I hope to be able to make this meal for my family and friends back at home one day. 

Amen to thoughtful actions.  Amen to warm feelings inside.  Amen to unexpected (good) surprises.  Peace and grace to all those reading this.  God has something thoughtful in store for you.  I don’t know when and I definitely don’t know what it will look like, but He has something thoughtful in store for you.  And when you get that warm feeling near your heart or feel particularly special, remember that God set that up – just for you.  Be thankful for the person or experience, but also, be thankful for your Heavenly Father who just nudged you and said “Hey, I love you.”