In the back yard there’s a frozen pond, small, and murky the rest of the year, but when it’s snow-covered it doesn’t matter. Five birch trees stand proud at its edge, somehow regal, striking, in their bare winter state. The other trees around the birch family are thick, brown, leaves clinging for dear life.
Beyond the pond’s edge and through the trees is another neighborhood. In the spring and summer the leaves are a thick green veil between our homes, but in these cold Minnesota months, only the birch stands between us. One house is a Christmas holdout, strings of colored lights lining their deck railing.
I love these lights. In the middle of the cold dark nights, they glow. Pacing and swaying with a sleepless baby, they glow. Struck with insomnia, my mind racing and heart beating fast, they glow. Putting dinner on the table again, bathing the babies, picking up the days toy destruction, those lights glow.
In the moments when I feel forgotten, those lights feel like a warm thought, reminding me that I’m always on Someone’s mind.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
{Psalm 139:17-18}
When credit is given to another, He thinks of me.
When a milestone passes unrecognized, He thinks of me.
When another day of mothering flies by fast, full of diapers and dishes and thankless love, He thinks of me.
When I am hurting, lonely, feeling left out, He thinks of me.
When all seems lost and my soul wanders, He thinks of me.
The leftover Christmas lights on my neighbor’s porch remind me of the posted watchmen in Isaiah 62. As the town slumbered, the watchmen prayed for one another and worshiped the Lord. They took no rest, and neither does He:
I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
The Lord himself watches over you!
{Psalm 121:1-5}
Those words are as comforting to my heart as the lights softly glowing beyond the frozen February trees. He doesn’t sleep. He thinks of me. The Maker not only knows me, He thinks of me.
One evening, my husband smiled soft and said he’d figured out my love language. It was “being thought of.” Gifts, time, acts of service — the title doesn’t matter to me; as long it came from his own thoughtfulness. As long as I feel thought of, remembered, I feel loved.
God is really good at making me feel thought of. Small things throughout my everyday, reminding me that He who never slumbers is thinking of me.
Things as small as leftover Christmas lights, twinkling in the deep night.
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Ifeoma Samuel says
Hi Anna, this is beautifully composed like a Love Letter.
Thank God for the thoughts he has towards us.
I love this Thank you for sharing this inspiration today.
God Bless you.
http://purposefulandmeaningful.blogspot.com/
Bev Duncan says
Anna,
I love this…”The Maker not only knows me, he thinks of me.” I, too, take comfort in knowing that people – especially those that I love – are thinking of me. My husband is great at just giving me a call from work to let me know he’s thinking about me. This makes my heart smile. If I am intentionally aware, I see the many ways God reminds me that He is thinking of me too…the colorful birds that perch to feed outside my window; a blazing orange and pink tinted sunrise to greet the day; a comforting hug from a friend; the moon shining through my bedroom window when I can’t sleep…He sees me…He thinks of me. Thank you for the beautiful post and scripture to start my day knowing I’m in my Maker’s thoughts!
Blessings,
Bev
Karen says
“Being thought of….” YEP, a love language for sure!!!!!
Liz Curtis Higgs says
So beautiful, Anna. Your words–and His Word–comfort me this morning.
Renae says
So beautiful. And it feeds my soul this morning. Thank you.
Jessica says
Oh my word!! I nearly EXPLODED as I read this! I have ALWAYS said my love language is “thought”! Maybe we need to contact Gary Chapman…
Marissa Morgan says
That’s my love language too! I literally just told someone that the other day. I love being thought of, and love that Jesus thinks of me 🙂
Deena Marie says
I remember those years…now I still wake up heart beating ,hot flash screaming…empty house… I pray for all my babies off in other cities and have to remember He is thinking about me too. Thank you for the reminder.
Susan says
I really like this. Isaiah 62 is an anchor point in my Christian walk and it rarely referenced, so it was especially encouraging to see it here. I hope those lights stay lit well into the spring!
JeanneTakenaka says
Anna, Psalm 139 is probably my absolute favorite psalm. Knowing that God’s thoughts toward me outnumber the sand? Is there any greater comfort? I love how the lights remind you that He’s always thinking about you. Even when we feel forgotten by people, we’re always on God’s mind. Thanks for that reminder!
Susan G. says
Love this. This sounds like me…this is how I think. Our God is awesome. And makes each one of us feel like we are His very special one – and we are.
Bless you as you ‘mother’ those babies into the night!
Beth Williams says
Anna,
I loved this! It is how I feel all the time. Tell me you’re thinking of me–phone call, snuggle on couch, etc. I never really thought about God thinking of me. Blows my mind that God would be thinking about little old me!
I do see his love in the vivid leaf colors, mountains, sunshine, sunset. He truly does care and think about us all the time!
Melanie says
I am weeping. This is so beautiful!