The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

A few years ago, some friends and I took a train from London to Edinburgh. It was spectacular. It most definitely had major Harry Potter vibes, and by major, I mean I was on a train leaving from London and there were people and food and even windows. So, yes, exactly like the Hogwarts Express.

It was one of those life moments when I knew it was special as it was happening. As I looked at the English countryside passing by out the window, my mind was quiet enough to hear the gentle whisper, You’ll want to pay attention to this. In God’s deeply intimate knowledge of me, he knew I’d want to soak up every second of this train ride. It was a dream coming true, and he gave me the eyes to see it and the heart to hold it. It was a holy moment.

It was a holy moment because God was there with me.

RELATED: Even When You Don’t Feel God, He’s There

But guess what? My life is not lived on trains from London to Edinburgh. That was a very un-ordinary moment. Most of my life is lived in very ordinary moments. I live an ordinary life filled with ordinary things like grocery shopping and walking the dog and having a friend over for coffee.

My life is lived at this window, in North Carolinathe one I’m looking at now as I type this.

For two hours of my life, I looked out a window to see the English countryside dotted with sheep. Sheep, y’all. Real British sheep! That was for two hours. And yet how many hours of my life have I lived in front of this window? So many. And what do I do in front of this window? I sit. I read. I write. I talk to friends. I play with the dog. I cry. I laugh as I watch Netflix on the couch. Those are all marks of where my real, actual life is lived. I wouldn’t watch Netflix on a train to Edinburgh. That’s not where my normal life is lived.

I’m recognizing that life is beautiful and holy and sacred in both places. My life is just as sacred at home as when I’m adventuring the Highlands of Scotland. What makes it sacred? Not the place. Not the view. Just these two things: God and the present. God in the present. The present moment is sacred because the present is where God dwells. Wherever my present moment is lived, that’s where God is. That’s sacred and holy ground.

If God isn’t limited by time, place, or the view outside my window, that means He meets me wherever I am. Every moment, however ordinary, is an opportunity for a holy moment.

God’s glory isn’t limited to the spectacular moments of my life. I don’t need British sheep or a mountain outside my window to meet with God. Those things are nice, added bonuses every once in a while, but those things aren’t necessary for the appearance of God or me recognizing God in the moment with me. The trees outside my window will do just fine.

RELATED: God is There Through it All

Just as my heart was attuned to the holiness of the un-ordinary moment as I was on the train, Jesus is teaching me to attune my heart to the holiness of moments that are completely ordinary, too. Like sitting in a chair in front of my window and noticing the sunlight through the trees. Like doing the dishes or walking down a grocery store aisle. These are all ordinary moments that become holy as I recognize God’s presence in them and meet him there.

I live my life here, in front of my window and the places around it. Wherever here is for you, be there. Then trust God to meet you there.

To meet you in your ordinary life, as you do your ordinary life things.

Jesus said, “Behold, I am with you always . . .” (Matthew 28:20, ESV). Always includes train rides to Edinburgh, and it also includes standing at the kitchen sink. Always includes Great Commission big moments, and it also includes ordinary life small moments.

Whatever your today holds—He’s there. Whatever your today brings—He’s there holding you.

RELATED: There’s No Need to Hide, God’s Already Found You

What are you doing today? Do you see God there, do you know He’s there with you? He’s longing to meet with you in the life you’re living, the life you’re living as you read these words. Take a moment to pause and remind yourself that yes, He’s here now, here with you. Whether today holds big moments or small moments, He’s with you always. That’s a promise.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Natalie Scott

Natalie writes to help women see God’s grace in their daily moments and find Him in the midst of “all the things.” She lives in North Carolina with her husband and their dog and can usually be found reading a book next to a window.

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

In: Faith, Living
Woman looking over canyon

Insecurity is something we all carry in one form or another. For me, it has probably always looked confident and outgoing from the outside. But internally, it can feel heavy, complicated, and exhausting at times. And when someone comes along whose behavior reinforces those insecurities, it amplifies what was already there. There was someone I had hoped to genuinely connect with, but it was clear from the start that the feeling wasn’t mutual. From the beginning, their wall was up. No matter how kind I tried to be or how carefully I showed up, it never came down. Their distance...

Keep Reading

Lord, Give Me Faith Like Hannah

In: Faith
Woman walking in field with hand in wheat

Hannah knew what it was like to feel forgotten. She often clutched her empty womb and thought Surely the Lord has forgotten me.  She knew the bitter sting of feeling isolated and alone. She knew the anguish of praying day after day after day and seeing no fruit, not even a bud, from her faithfulness. Hannah knew what it was like to feel like the weight of the world was on her, and her hope may have dwindled. Even those around her did not offer encouragement. Quite the opposite—they did their best to sow seeds of discouragement. Yet Hannah pressed...

Keep Reading

God Carries Me Through the Deep Waters of Change

In: Faith, Living, Motherhood
Woman at the beach as waves come in

“Ahhh!” My underwater scream garbled in my snorkel tube as the manta ray’s cavernous mouth swept a hand’s distance from my face. My fingers tightened around the surfboard until my knuckles ached. My arms trembled. I jerked my head side to side, searching for my daughters, Mia and Megan. Recent college graduates, they had joined me on one last mother-daughter vacation before launching their adult lives. They floated easily on the vibrant Hawaiian water, relaxed, trusting. I wanted to borrow their calm. Earlier, our guide had explained that the LED lights built into the surfboard attracted plankton the way college...

Keep Reading

Faith After a Rare Disease Diagnosis

In: Faith, Motherhood
Family smiling in posed photo

My pastor frequently speaks of “kid pain” and acknowledges there’s nothing like it. I can testify to that. After nine months of uncertainty and unexplained issues following the birth of our now 4-year-old daughter, Harlow, we finally received her diagnosis of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency (PDCD), a life-limiting mitochondrial disease with no cure and no FDA-approved treatments. It was heartbreaking. In moments like these, a parent can fall into complete desperation. You go through a range of emotions almost too fast to name: fear for your child’s life; anxiousness about how much time you’ll get with them; overwhelming grief. And...

Keep Reading

What If I Don’t Hear God’s Voice?

In: Faith
Woman with folded hands looking up

There have been many times over the years when I’ve heard others share stories of how the Lord spoke to them or gave them a sign. Seashells scattered along a sandy beach, numbered to represent how many children they would have. A quiet walk in the park, followed by a clear sense that another little one was coming. What a blessing, I think, when I hear and read their stories. I often wonder how much more faith they must have than I do—to know with such certainty that what they heard was truly God speaking. I listen, I smile, and...

Keep Reading

God Holds You As You Hold Everyone Else

In: Faith, Motherhood
Mother holding toddler daughter on her hip, standing outside

She stands in the kitchen, hands trembling over the sink, tears she cannot let fall pressing behind her eyes. The world outside her window is quiet, but inside her heart there is a storm she cannot name. She is hurting, not because she does not love her life, but because somewhere along the way she forgot how to breathe inside it. Yet even in her pain, little voices call her name. Tiny hands tug at her shirt. Lunchboxes need packing, homework needs checking, hearts need holding. And so she wipes her face, forces a smile, and whispers a quiet prayer:...

Keep Reading

Yes, I Know Fear—but I Also Know Faith

In: Faith, Motherhood
Mother holding child's hands in hospital bed

The night my daughter woke up screaming at 3 a.m., I knew something was wrong. Her cry wasn’t the half-asleep whimper of a bad dream. Instead, it was pain—raw and sharp. Within an hour, we were rushing to the emergency room, the world outside our headlights still wrapped in darkness. Tests, scans, questions, and then the words no parent ever wants to hear: “We’re transferring her to another hospital by ambulance. She needs surgery right away.” They said “torsion.” They said “tumor.” They said “appendix.” I nodded, because that’s what mothers do. We stay steady, even when our hearts are...

Keep Reading

10 Years after My Mother’s Death, Her Faith Still Guides Me

In: Faith, Grief
Woman praying

Growing up, I was a reluctant Catholic. My mother would drag us to church, and I’d go through the motions—fingers moving across rosary beads without really feeling the prayers. But she never stopped. Sunday Mass, daily prayers, devotions to the Blessed Mother. She was relentless in her faith, not because she was trying to force it on us, but because she genuinely believed we would need it someday. She was right. My mother died of stage 4 colon cancer in 2012. My brother and I watched her suffer, saw how her body betrayed her, watched as treatments failed. And here’s...

Keep Reading

Finding God in the Middle of Disbelief: A Mom’s Journey through Faith and Fear

In: Faith
Mother holding hand of young child, silhouette

“But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not triumph over me.” – Jeremiah 20:11 God, thank You for making sure my son is okay. Thank You for this just being paranoia. I believe in You. I believe in Your control. I believe. I believe. I believe. These words streamed through my head as my husband drove us downtown to visit our first specialist with our 4-month-old son, Maximus. Our pediatrician had written me off, but I could not ignore the feeling in my bones that something was wrong. Tiny, hard bumps...

Keep Reading

In Praise of Indebtedness: How Threads of Reciprocity Weave Us Together

In: Faith, Living
Woman holding casserole

It all started with tomatoes. After we moved, a neighbor invited us to pick from the abundance in her and her husband’s gardens. In return for a pile of tomatoes gathered from their raised beds, I left a plastic bag of homegrown pumpkins on their porch. Later that summer, our neighbor stopped by with a recycled container full of still more fruits. By the fall, we were sharing chili and cookies over dinner at our place. Threads of indebtedness were weaving us together. For most of my life, the idea of indebtedness has tasted rather repulsive on my tongue. The...

Keep Reading