"Even though it's small, THIS is for you"

Those were Matthew's words to me as he handed me a flower that he stopped to pick during our walk this afternoon. Such simple words, but such a profound - and HUGE - moment! He has never given me a flower before, and he gave Maddie one, too. The rest of the evening I found myself thinking about the seemingly small things that we have the privilege of appreciating so much. Gifts from God... little miracles that would be so easy to miss...

Gifts like the conversation I overheard between Matthew and Maddie tonight about flying on airplanes. Matthew wants to fly somewhere, and Maddie was telling him that she was scared to fly... and they had a 5 minute conversation about it... a pretty deep one! She was reminding him about how much she cried when we got on the airplane to fly to Texas (3 years ago!), and he remembered and said she was the most scared little sister in the world. She said that no, she was only about 80% scared. A little sister that was being kidnapped would be -- and they both agreed -- 100% scared. They continued to talk about why it was scary, and of course he said that she'll have to fly anyway. I could've been out of earshot of that great conversation, or too busy to notice it, but instead, it was one of the highlights of my day.

Gifts like the tiny dog we have... a tiny dog with a HUGE heart, and a HUGE personality. Just tonight he was snuggling up next to Matthew, rolling over on his side to get Matthew to pet him... nuzzling him to get his attention. He really loves Matthew, and it's so amazing to watch their relationship unfold.

Gifts like the seemingly small detail of Maddie being able to spend time at Lionheart with us this week. She didn't have school, and Lionheart was willing to let her hang out in one of their young classes because she plays so well with some of the girls in there. It seems like a small thing, but Maddie loves it, and it makes a huge impact on her, and the fact that it gives her the chance to give back some of what she gains through her journey is awesome. She had another option this week, but she wanted to be at Lionheart. Wow. To "thank" her for her help (which is another gift, because they were helping ME by allowing her to be there!), they invited her to go to the horse farm today. She was ecstatic... and she rode her first REAL HORSE. I took some pictures; hopefully I'll be able to add them tomorrow.

Gifts like the one I got today when I walked out to the playground at Lionheart. I went out to remind Maddie not to get "too wild" out there, but as I got closer, I saw her walking hand in hand with Matthew. I hid behind a bush, watched for a second, said a prayer of gratitude, and slipped away.

As I type, I realize that I just wrote about three small but HUGE things that all happened today! God's miracles - big and small - are everywhere! We just have see them! I pray that my eyes and ears will be this open tomorrow, too. I can hear God saying about tomorrow, "Even though it's small, THIS is for you."