On a schools-out, Summer-time morning, I drove past a badling of ducks moving from their morning paddling to their mid-morning activity of foraging and preening. They seem to live in perpetual holiday-living mode.

Of course, I wasn’t thinking about the coyotes I hear howling at night in the morning sunlight. Or the foxes that sneak into the backyard chicken coops of 21st Century enthusiasts of animal husbandry , or the bears that tumble through backyards sometimes. that might think a little duck might taste good. I was just thinking how content, how unworried they seemed with everything moving about them. Unhurried. Unworried.

I’d been thinking about the forecasts – the health forecasts, the economic forecasts, the food forecasts – the lifestyle forecasts, the future forecasts. Forecasts from pundits. Forecasts from the politicians. Forecasts from pulpits. Forecasts from prophecies and revelations.

Worry about all the tomorrows hurried, crouched, hovered, threatened. I’d been praying in my drive time. Sometimes it’s the quietest place – and I saw all those ducks roadside, the safety of the pond far behind, working their way in to their morning routine – and God whispered in my spirit the words, “Behold the birds of the air.”

Matthew 6:26 literally waddled roadside! God knows how a visual helps me with something He wants me to know:

“Behold the fowls of the air:
for they sow not,
neither do they reap,
nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they?”

“Behold” not “look.” “Behold” requires so much more consideration than “Look.”

Look implies just surface sight: “To direct the eye towards an object, with the intention of seeing it.” (Websters 1828 Dictionary)

Behold: “To fix the eyes upon; to see with attention; to observe with care.” (Websters 1828 Dictionary)

Behold as in “Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. ” ~ John 1:29

Behold as in not just looking but seeing to taking hold of the truth, the meaning – there is something to be found if you can grasp it that can change your life.

A badling of ducks isn’t always just a bunch of ducks. A gaggle of geese isn’t always just a gaggle of geese. A colony of seagulls isn’t always just a colony of seagulls. Not when God is delivering messages.

Then I saw the ducks , and remembered the scripture, it made me think of the times God has provided like God did with enough flour and oil for the widow who fed Elijah until the drought ended or Elisha turning one jar of the widow’s oil into many. Someone God took the improbable for my mother, brother and I growing up and turned it into enough.

I remembered how God took care of me growing up after my dad walked out. I remembered how I mother, brother and I moved in with our grandparents, who didn’t have a whole lot either, but in the 60s, you didn’t have to have a whole lot for enough. My mom worked as a sales clerk. She never missed a day. Then she’d come home and sew. Grandmother cooked dinner every night. I don’t know how, but she made one chicken feed all five of us. Aunt Joyce picked us all up on Sunday mornings , along with Grandmother, her bridge friend, Mrs. Taylor, . and drove us to church.

My mom on a minimum wage salary managed to send us to Catholic schools where we read the bible, went to church, and learned about Christian living. When we got old enough, we worked. My brother built a mowing business that paid for his high school education. I worked to help pay for mine. Every penny I made went into the bank. If we went to the movies or to eat with our friends in high school, we paid for it from the money we earned.

My mom didn’t have a driver’s license until she was 29-30 years old. She managed to scrape together enough money to get a green Volkswagon that was totaled in front of church one Sunday morning because a car behind us didn’t stop. My mom had a neck injury – and from the money she made from insurance, she was able to pay for the rest of my high school education.

We grew up with enough – and for us it was a feast. They were sweet times where we caught fireflies in jars with holes hammered in the lid, running and shrieking with delight. We tasted honeysuckle nectar droplets at twilight because that’s the only time we seemed to think of it. We climbed trees, hung upside down, walked up the street to visit my aunt without a worry in the world and would stop in to see my mom at the hardware store. She sewed my prom dress with navy Bill Blass lace someone gave her. We shared a room all my growing up years in the summer’s blistering heat and the winter’s freezing cold.

God provided every day, every year, every step of the way.

In the Original Mary Poppins, Poppins says, “Enough is as good as a feast.”

Those ducks waddling along – God wanted me to behold, to look deeper and remember. He’s got me. He’s not going to let go. He hasn’t yet. He’s not going to. He’s in this relationship for the long haul – for eternity. He is El Shaddai – the God who is more than enough.

Live trust – in Him, He says. Live contentment, in Him, He says. Live Joy, in Him. Challenges may come. Even seemingly impossible things may come. But I am the God of More Than Enough, He says.

Today I am remembering how He has taken care of me before – and trusting Him for my tomorrow. Today, I am still asking, “What are you and I doing today God?”

Remember Me Monday: #43& Linky

“I’ll make a list of God’s gracious dealings,
    all the things God has done that need praising,
All the generous bounties of God,
    his great goodness to the family of Israel—
Compassion lavished,
    love extravagant.”
~ Isaiah 63:7, The Message

In the Old Testament, God repeatedly, quietly and loudly, tells his children, “You have forgotten me!”  (Jeremiah 3:32, Ezekiel 22:12, to name a few). It’s a heart cry from a father to a child who has forgotten all the love, all the saving, helping, little and big blessings – and it leaves me stunned when I realize our Father, the creator of the universe, who knows things I cannot begin to fathom, who authors storylines that leave me amazed, delights in all of us so much, He cries out, “Remember Me.”

While every day is a Remember God Day, I am inviting you to join me on Monday mornings to come by and remember what God has done for you, for your family. Maybe God sent a cardinal darting out in front of you, as if to tell you, “I’m here,” or broke a child’s fever after you laid it all down at His feet in a 2 a.m. bedside vigil. Maybe He stood with you in the wait of a prayer sent out, or brought someone you loved to Christ. Maybe He healed your broken heart, gave your courage, or you gave Him your dreams as a love offering only to have Him give them back in an unimaginable way. Maybe God helped you survive to bedtime after a crazy Monday, or forgive yourself for missing it with your kiddos –– Whatever it is, let’s Remember Him. . . in a “Remember Me Monday” love letter.

“My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
Of your salvation all the day long,
Though I know not its measure.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord”
~ Psalm 71:15-16.

Let us delight in Him by telling the  stories of what He’s done!  If you wrote a blog post remembering what He’s done for you, join the linky. If you didn’t but still want to praise Him for what He’s done – write it in the comment section. Then visit a comment before or after yours! One of the beautiful things about the blogging community is the relationships it builds!

Rules?  Write long or short, a list or a story, include photos or not. Just Remember Him and what He has done, and let the gratitude of your heart guide you. Let’s make Monday so Rejoice, that the goodness of God spills into the rest of the week!

***All photos marked with Muddy Photography or © Blue Cotton Memory or used within Blue Cotton Memory blog(s) belong Blue Cotton Memory. Going forward, photos will be marked with Muddy Photography.

Places I’m Linking at This Week:
 Inspire Me Monday,   Instaencouragements, 
Legacy Link-Up, Recharge Wednesday
 Faith on Fire, Tell His Story, Grace&Truth
Let’s Have Coffee Wednesday