SIMPLE PLEASURES

Psalm 16:11  "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

My sister-in-law (but I love her as if she were my real sister) told me today that it doesn't take much to make me happy.  She had laughed as I told her the antics of two small birds I saw outside my office window, laughing a second time when I had such joy that it was raining.  She told me that it did not take much for me to be happy; I just felt such joy at that statement.

Ever feel like you have arrived at the end of a journey?  This feels like one of those long journeys that I have completed in my Lord.  I have gotten to the foundation of the life He has wanted for me.  I have found such contentment in my Lord, as His presence and love has overshadowed every concern and earthly care, and I have complete peace and trust in Him.

This peace and trust has produced the ability - the uncomplicated life of enjoying such simple pleasures, the gifts He gives us everyday that we somehow failed to see before we arrive at this point.  When I found myself completely immersed in the flow of my God's river of life, that refreshing river that healed me to the very core of my being; all hurts, disappointments, heartaches, unfulfilled desires; every fiber of my body became whole.  My spirit and my mind was renewed by the very - so alive - Word of God; then my eyes opened and I began to see joy in everything, the simpliest of things, the beauty of what the Lord has made, what He has placed on this earth for my enjoyment, for your enjoyment, our pleasure. 

True enjoyment of our lives has never been about what money could buy.  That is a clever tool of the enemy to keep you blinded from the real gifts of the Lord.  As long as he can make you think that there is no pleasure in life without money, well, you will get nothing from this life, nothing real and lasting.  But when you find that contentment, as I did, in the Father, in what He has made you to be, the deep knowledge that His love is all to you; and all the earthly belongings are just stuff, unimportant stuff; then you have arrived at that special place, as I have, where you can have joy in the simple pleasures.  Where little birds at play, where a refreshing, cooling rain shower, flowers blooming in a neighbors yard, the uninhibited laughter of children, where these simple things bring joy and smiles to your face.

So my sister-in-law has me pegged correctly, I am so easy to please, it takes just the simple pleasures in this life to bring me joy.  I have found the base structure of my life, the Cornerstone, the Foundation, the Rock.  My Lord has made me steady, sure, and rooted in Him.  He supplies all I need, He never fails me, my trust in Him is sure and complete.  This 7th day of June, 2011, I have discovered the secret to enjoying life's simple pleasures.