Divine Details

I hate that saying “the devil is in the details.”  Who says only the devil can own details?  I know, I know.  It refers to hidden detriments hidden in the obscure parts of everything.  It’s like parents or pet owners who slip medicine into food, hoping it will be too small to notice or that the yucky flavor will be masked by mashed potatoes.  I know.  There are a hundred ways that life sucks if we just look closely enough.  Thinking about the human footprint and its implications for our world can make anyone depressed.  These are the details we rarely pay attention to.  Which is why it’s so easy for detriment to make its way into our lives.  We never even notice when our existence comes to ruin.  I guess that’s what the devil is betting on.

But I’m all for taking back what the devil stole.  Like details.  I believe there are wonders hidden in details.  Beauty is hidden in places we rarely expect.  And God loves surprises.  That’s why I believe we can find the Divine in the details, that opportunities abound to be amazed and delighted. 

There are tons of details about this past week that I treasure.  The whole reason we made the trip to Texas was to help celebrate my cousin Landry’s graduation from high school.  (I am the oldest grandchild; he is the youngest.  It’s true that I’m old enough to be his mom.  Sigh.) So sprinkled into this momentous occasion are snapshots that make it so personal, so uniquely our own.  Like the way we all wore fake mustaches in our grand extended family picture from the graduation party.  Like how Landry wore his as if it were a booger hanging out of his nose.  Like how I just happened to pick out his card the day before that said on the front “I wanted to get you something green for your graduation” and on the inside said, “so I blew my nose in your card.”  Coincidence?  I think not!

Or how about this one.  The morning after his big day he posted on Facebook that he wished his “Paw Paw” could have been there, but that he knew he was watching from Heaven.  I commented about how I always think of our grandfather being in our “cloud of witnesses” from Hebrews 12:1, cheering us on as we persevere.  When I  mentioned this to my aunt she told me that she had found a way to sew pictures of both Landry’s grandfathers into his graduation cap for his graduation ceremony.  How wonderful is that?  In a sea of graduation caps and gowns that one detail made Landry’s so deeply special.

Life is full of beautiful details.  Some funny.  Some touching.  Some so exquisite they make our eyes water.  Instead of hunting for all the disappointing ones, I want my eyes to be open to the Divine Love hiding in plain sight.  And I want to be the kind of person that sews the Divine into the fabric of every minute.  So others can see beauty.  So others can laugh.  So others can feel their hearts move.  So that the tears that fall from our eyes become the Water of Life.