Magical Moments

I believe life is full of good moments – and if we stop long enough to look, we will find those good moments and enjoy them.  As Ann Voscamp challenges in her book One Thousand Gifts, there are blessings from God all around us, if we choose to look.  The gift is in the thankfulness for the ordinary and the everyday.

BUT

Sometimes, it’s not that difficult to find a good moment.  It almost smacks you in the face.  These are magical moments.  Moments in time when I try to snap a mental picture and file it away for later.  I don’t t have to try to find the gift because it is so obviously in front of me.

That was tonight.

Friends of ours, dear friends that are quickly becoming very special to us, treated us to a night in Canada at the Upper Canada Village, a 1800’s town that has been preserved for for demonstrations of life in the 1830’s in the warmer months.  However, at Christmas time, this little town is turned into a Christmas village that is wonderful to walk through.  Almost a million lights are on display throughout the buildings, complete with a horse and buggy ride and train ride for the children.

Between the snuggling on the horse ride, the excitement in my son’s voice while on the train ride, the freshly falling snow, searches for gingerbread cookies, and singing carols in a gorgeous, 1800s style church, there was magic everywhere.  I didn’t want to forget one moment.  It was so beautiful, not just because the lights were grand, but because i was able to see the world through the eyes of my children – a world full of hope and love because all they were seeing was beauty.  My kids were feeling the cold, worried about the time, or solving problems in their heads.  They were just excited to be there, in that moment, enjoying their magical moment.

And I am so very thankful for that.  Because I know hard times will come, and the harsh realities of life will be a part of my kids experiences.  But, at least I know that for tonight, the world was full of magic, and I got to share it with them.