Tuesday, May 08, 2012

They Catch My Breath


 Apple blossoms in last year's garden - not that far along yet this year


There I was waiting mindlessly for my turn at the drive-through window, when I found myself in the midst of an apple blossom blizzard.

Living in Alberta and well used to freak spring snow storms, for half a second I thought it was snowing. But no, it was apple petals adrift on the morning breeze...falling everywhere, even inside my car. That's when I felt a joy bubble bursting up from my heart! What fun! What beauty!

We all know how elusive soap bubbles are...light, frothy, and then poof they're gone. It seems joy bubbles are like that; they’re the tiniest of gifts that float by, that when we do stop and receive them, they turn an ordinary or even a fractious moment into one of Grace. Loveliness. Rest.

I call them 'joy bubbles' because usually when I experience this feeling, I actually feel it bubble up from deep on the inside, and the joy almost catches my breath as the sweetness and beauty of the moment washes over me.  C.S. Lewis calls it being 'surprised by joy'. 

It's the unexpectedness of these moments out of nowhere that causes the joy, I think. So often we're just minding our own business, getting on with things, and then, like a gift from heaven, it whams our hearts and nourishes it, turning our world right-side-up.



So simple these pleasures are sometimes -- often in fact -- yet these tiny treasures give me the greatest joy bubbles. Here are five from the last day or so:
1. The curtains catching the gentle breeze and making them billow and waft;
2. Hearing the first sleepy notes of our robins as we leave for work in the morning;
3. The glorious shades of Spring greens bursting out all over this week;
4. Going to sleep last night in my spring-cleaned bedroom -- that's bliss!
5. Finally finding just the right word and then being able to press 'publish'.

So, Dear Ones, I'm wishing you your own glimpses of heaven today...
Hugs,
Brenda
xox





19 comments:

  1. Wishes returned, my friend:) Lovely photo and the popping of blossoms is just around the bend!!!

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  2. Ah, those birds sound delic... um, they sound so sweet! Pretty much all we see at our feeders are finches and sparrows, along with a few snowbirds that haven't figured out that we're not getting any more snow.

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  3. Hi Brenda,
    I popped over to Perfectly Pink just now. I always find your writings so beautifully entertaining and thought provoking...Love those pretty apple blossoms, my friend. Take care.
    Linda

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  4. If you think missing me is hard, then you should try missing you.
    -- Author Unknown

    Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will.
    -- Author Unknown

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  5. Just dropping by to wish you Easter blessings!

    Take care :)

    I'll be looking forward to seeing your bird pics when you have the time.

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  6. Lovely...and just wait...this year too, just wait!
    greetings
    BShell

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  7. Brenda - your trees must be in bloom now... I hope?

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  8. Hello Brenda...

    It's Friday. I want to thank you for visiting my beloved blog and commenting, too.

    Your blossom photos are very lovely.

    Hope your Easter is very lovely and peaceful. Susan

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  9. I just posted this today, but for some reason I've got comments from another posting on another day.

    Not sure what happened.....

    But this is a new posting today.

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  10. Hmmm...drive-through window and Canadian...it must have been Tim Hortons for a double-double! :o)

    A beautiful picture to go along with beautiful thoughts. Thank you. I so enjoy spring with the "firsts" it brings...the return of birdsong, plants poking up through the earth and opening the windows again after a long winter.

    Funny how the comments are from another post. Blogger can be interesting sometimes to say the least!

    Enjoy your day!

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  11. A lovely post, Brenda. Today I walked through a blizzard of cherry petals - heavenly!

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  12. Beautiful thoughts here! I just discovered your blog through A Delightsome Life!

    It's so nice to "meet" you, Brenda!

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    1. Michelle, how lovely to meet you as well. I popped over to your beautiful site... and so enjoyed the beauty you share there!

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  13. Hi Brenda! Oh how I would love to be in an apple blossom storm! Just the thought of it makes my heart skip a beat. Have a wonderful evening ahead and I just loved your beautiful post! With Love, Delisa :)

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    1. At the very present moment as I write here, the robins are adding their sleepy whistles as the world wakes to a new day.

      Aren't those glimpses we get, whether through personal experience or through the 'vicarious' sharing of others, wonderful. That's when I'm very grateful for our God-given gift of imagination... we can see it in our own mind's eye when someone shares!

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  14. You always say just the right words. I can just feel that soft wind coming in through lace covered windows and seeing wildflowers moving outside. That's my best warm weather daydream.

    I love your little joy bubbles. Here are a few of mine: looking down and seeing a violet near my feet. Seeing the name 'Jesus' on an overpass. Hearing my grandson giggle.

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    1. Nancy, you are an encourager to me... and I thank you for the many times you pop in and share something that speaks back to me.

      I love YOUR joy bubbles too!

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To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo