smiles

You know when you get back from a trip/vacation/break ... everything seems fresh, new, almost unconsuming?  Schedules, deadlines, and other "things" of that nature aren't placed as priority as much as valuing the moments you can create being at home, enjoying that which you saw and now where you are. How, I ask, do we get at that place continually where we NEED a recess again?


Today, I was pining for that sentiment to bring me through these wintery days!  So, for a bit of consoling, I scrolled through albums of photographs of my favorite trips.  When I came across this photo my face became aglow!  This young, Panamanian's beam and beautiful eyes were somethings I didn't want to forget in that little village of Llano Bonito, Panama.  It seemed that most of the people living there were content ... truly happy ... you could see it on their faces.

These are people who have little to nothing, who see and preserve the value of their lives, customs, and traditions ... a people who, I'm sure, have never craved that "feeling" of refocus as I do after an out-of-my-world experience.  Regardless what they have or haven't done, its what they DO that I concentrate on today.


It's because of gratitude that I've been so excited coming home and viewing life differently and it should be by that same genuine delight that I may be content today.  Not rummaging for feelings or sensations, but allowing God to show me that He brings new mercies, fresh innovations, and exciting prospects when I am thankful for my very geographical location ... TODAY!  right HERE!


...I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want...  philippians 4:12

Smile with me wherever you are today ... being thankful of your present surroundings and the past 'thrills' that brought you here.

pic pix: 2 of my Panamanian friends, smiling - Llano Bonito, Panama Feb.2009