Earlier this week, my cousin Sarah, a mother to three beautiful girls, commented on Facebook that she loves to write notes on a family whiteboard about plans for the evening, then wait for one of them to notice, read, squeal, and run to tell her sisters. “It’s these little things I try to treasure,” she wrote. To which I responded, “It’s the little things that make a life.”

I had a similar conversation with other Moms this week. About how it’s Ok to let your kids look at something in which you don’t really find any fascination and color their brothers green and play in the rain. (One smart Mom said, “There’s only one way to learn to dance in the rain. To get out there and do it.”) And I am so, so unspeakably grateful to have had this sense of the weight of “little things” from before my son was even born.

When you listen to those who have lost loved ones — whether a child who lived only hours or a spouse of more than 50 years — they so often will tell you it’s the little things they miss the most. And, I wonder, how often are we missing these little things already?

Some of you may have already discovered another blog project I have championed, I Found Beauty at www.ifoundbeauty.wordpress.com. It’s ALL about moments. Little things. The everyday abundant life. The gift of ordinary. Magic in the mundane. Being fully alive here. Now. Seeing God’s glory today. In THIS right here in front of me. In fact, I’ve challenged myself to count 1000 of them. (See my progress here.)

I truly do believe it’s the little things that make a life. I do not count it as little that you are reading these words. And that you might have found something “little” to fill your now with.

VERY COOL UPDATE: I have been doing the Five-Minute Friday postings the last couple of weeks. There was not a new prompt when I checked in this morning, so I wrote this instead. And I have now discovered the FMF prompt was delayed, but the topic of choice was “Ordinary” … which means God put me & Gypsy Mama on the same page this morning. How cool is that?!?