Leaves and Ladybugs

How does one even begin to describe an experience that was handwritten on the heart by God?

One doesn’t… God does.

I will try and do my best to translate.

A house of love – a porch of healing – two chairs – two hearts – a quilt – unity of meals and one Almighty, Awesome, Loving God.
A leaf and a ladybug.

Saturday took me to a new place to meet new faces. Most of you already know that JD and I met. God met us both. In the midst of some deep conversation a leaf landed on me. JD commented that it took some effort for that leaf to blow up under the covered porch to find my lap. I thought nothing of it really. I took the leaf and stuck it between the holes in the wicker chair. Then it looked like God’s hand waving. I felt him near. His hand was truly wrapped around me in that chair. Then a ladybug came and landed right on the leaf. Conversation continued for hours. The sun shone. The day stretched itself out just for us. Even though the time came for me to physically leave – in other ways I never left.

Sunday afternoon, despite wanting to nap, I decided to go for a walk. The day was too gorgeous to miss. I packed a bottle of water, my camera, bible, notebook and pen. Even though I had already spent the morning writing pages and pages somehow I knew I’d need it. I walked. I worshipped. I couldn’t help singing out loud. I sat on a bench overlooking the lake and let God love me. I pulled out my bible and read some psalms. Out loud. Not so loud as to be preaching to others going by – but loud enough to express my heart glorifying God. I was so full I almost couldn’t handle it. I wanted to yell, dance, run… something, anything.

After a few minutes I got up to walk some more. In the song I was listening to, the singer says, “You’d better brace yourself because he’s about to blow in this place.” And on cue the wind picked up a little and began to blow the leaves. If it was possible, I smiled bigger. Gently leaves were blowing down from the trees. Most were floating out over the water but a couple came down on the path. I saw one lazily floating it’s way down so I ran up and snatched it right in midair. I felt accomplished that I had caught a falling leaf. (If you haven’t ever tried it before it’s a lot harder than it looks) Some runners came up behind me and said, “Nice catch.”

I start to walk home. Leaf in hand. It’s just an ordinary brown oak leaf with some small holes in it. A couple of times I almost just let go it. Why did I need to keep it? Turns out it was because I hadn’t gotten the lesson yet.

I thought about how the leaf came down off the tree. It was dead. It was designed to fall off so something new and living could replace it in the spring. I had snatched it up before it reached its destination on the ground. I had been carrying a dead leaf. Not just in my hand that day, but in my life holding onto things God meant to have me shed. God had been nudging me so gently and showing me how to let it go – send it back on it’s way on the wind to the ground. Saturday was a gifted breeze to release it on.

I let the leaf in my hand go when the breeze picked up. No longer weighed down by death. I closed my notebook and there on the edge was a ladybug.

Coincidence?? I think not!!!
I laughed out loud.
Seriously, God…seriously!