Inspiration of today

Today the prompt for the blogathon I am participating in is “share something that inspires you”. On any given day this might be different, for I am susceptible to inspiration of all sorts. Once I was listening to one of my kids CD’s while we were all driving down the hill and suddenly I was crying over the simple lyrics in one of the songs. For days afterwards, even when driving by myself, I listened to that song. Different experiences speak to the soul at different times. We were visited this year by my husband’s parents for Christmas; the drive down from Davenport Washington was no small venture. Our house is small with an already cramped five people within, so the accommodation, if they would have it, was the trailer in the yard. Mom and Dad (so I call them), though they had offers from other friends in town, chose to stay in the trailer where little fists would knock early on cold mornings and energetic grandchildren would climb on them and help them greet the day. This was the first Christmas they had spent with us since the children were born and I watched them play and talk and read and listen to my kids day after day. I watched them help feed the little guy and make soup for us all. I watched my rambunctious five year old climb all over his Grandpa asking to be tickled and hugged and talked to. Never did Grandpa seem to get tired of it. In truth, I watched over the last two weeks the effect that special time has on children. They brighten, they glow and play and laugh as if the love they are receiving is bolstering their little confidences before my very eyes. My husbands mom and dad have truly become my second mom and dad over the years, and they are the inspiration I feel in this moment. I watched my daughter cry on her grandpa’s chest as they said goodbye tonight, knowing he will be returning home early in the morning. She called me into her room a little later and asked if she could get up really early and go out to the trailer to say goodbye. We asked Grandpa if he would wake her up to say goodbye instead and she went to sleep with that anticipation. Dad jokes that when they leave I will blog about how LONG they stayed at our house but on the contrary I am blogging about how upset I am that they didn’t stay longer and how thankful I am that they came at all. We all make an impact on the lives of those around us, especially those who love us. The impact can be, and should be, a wonderfully positive and perhaps life altering one. I am reminded of the very powerful words of one who impacted the wide world long ago, and within that wide world the seemly insignificant little people of the moment: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them. For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”.