Watching Happiness Unfold

Nothing brings me greater happiness than to watch the fosslings have fun! I love hearing their sweet little voices as they play together and break out into choruses of laughter.  Listening to the sound of three precious girls singing together and holding hands bring tears of joy to my eyes.  Some of our most beloved days have been spent together at our favorite nearby beach.  The fosslings quickly shed their socks and shoes, roll up their pant legs, and run like the wind at the first sight of sand.  This particular beach is a favorite because it is vast and private.  I can let my little ladies take off in all directions and then simply enjoy the show!  Baby fossling has taken to jumping lately, so she hops and skips along the beach with all of the jolliness that encompasses her sweet spirit.  Little, middle fossling floats like a fairy and then rams like a mack truck, all in one fluid-paradoxical motion.  Big girl fossling ballet dances while singing a song that was written on her heart the moment her feet touched the beach.  I am overwhelmed with the pride and peace and passion that pours over me when I watch each of my children enjoying life.

This week we decided to have our family day out of town, so we packed in the mini and headed to the North Shore of Massachusetts, where our family began.  We took the fosslings to see where we used to live, the parks we played at, where papa and mama fossling worked, and all of our special memory spots.  But the most fun for me was to watch our girls having fun at a very unexpected place…a furniture store.  Although, it’s not just your run of the mill recliner outlet.  They have all sorts of fabulous entertainment, one of which became the highlight of the fosslings’ day.  Liquid fireworks.  Truth be told, we all loved watching the incredible fountain and light display that was choreographed to fantastic music.  The fosslings’ mouths hung wide open as the lights went dark and suddenly water sprayed in every direction, in maginificent colors and loud music caused such excitement that they couldn’t help but clap their tiny hands together.  I couldn’t take my eyes off my children.  They were so happy.  At one point, big girl fossling said, “Mom, look!  You’re missing it!”  I didn’t think their happiness could be surpassed until papa fossling came on the scene with giant bowls of ice cream for all four of his girls.  Their joy was complete…and galactic.  And at that point even my husband had to say, “Hon, don’t forget about your ice cream.”  For anyone who knows me well, you’d realize that I would have to be under some type of a spell to be unaware of fireworks and ice cream.  Two of my favorite things momentarily became unimportant and fell to the shadow of the spotlight of my children’s joy.  We didn’t take them to Disney and we didn’t hand them a brand new toy.  They were ecstatic about something different and beautiful and wonderful and I was just so happy watching it all unfold.

It wasn’t until we came back home and I laid my exhausted body to bed, that I realized what God wanted to show me that day.  I was fully satisfied and incredibly thankful just to have the day in a special place with my four favorite people.  But, God wanted even more for me to see that not only does He love to give me the desires of my heart, but He loves to watch me have fun in the process.  I don’t often think of God this way.  I know He loves me, but He also loves to see me love the life He has given me.  My joy brings Him joy.  It came from Him in the first place!  But as I watched my fosslings smile and squeal with delight with each colorful burst of waterworks and lick their lips with each sticky lick of ice cream, my smiles grew.  And they smiled and laughed all the more, seeing mama enjoy what they loved.  It was the perfect picture of the cycle of love and joy that grows in my relationship with God as I enjoy what He has given me and His joy grows as my joy and thankfulness turns back to Him.