heaven on earth.

Have you ever felt like home was heaven on earth?
Like being home, if even for a few days, made everything better?
It's almost like your soul just craves the sanctuary that comes with being around
the people who know you. really know you. and the places you know so well.
There is no explaining yourself. There is no need for constant conversation. There is no stress.
Only people and places you love, and who love you in return.

I've had that experience a few times now.
The first was the summer after I graduated high school.
I had never been away from home longer than two weeks,
but I was independent...so I was sure it would be no big deal to leave home for the summer.
Oh, I was more than a little overconfident in my ability to be independent
and unaware of my youth and dependence on my family.
It got to be too much for my barely graduated self to handle- and one weekend, I needed to go.
I left directly after work on Friday and had to come back for work Monday,
so a short trip was what it had to be.
I couldn't drive fast enough.
We didn't do anything that special, just our normal dinner and a movie routine.
It happened to be a perfect summer night.
So a spontaneous thought brought about a spontaneous adventure-
and we brought blow-up mattresses to our (then) house pad and slept under the stars.

I think I cried when I left. I had never before realized how much I loved home.

This weekend was another one of those.
Heaven on earth. I was back in God's country with my people.
I was comfortable and happy and sat taking in the general splendor most of the time.
The colored green touched everything in sight, and sunshine flooded through every window.
We fell asleep to a breeze through the window and stars for days, 
and woke up slowly in the mornings to sunshine and birds chirping.
I scratched backs and did hair and makeup.
I gave and received good, long hugs.

It was only three days, but blissful they were.
And they somehow put everything back in balance.

Magic.

You know those happiness moments?

The ones where the weather is perfect,

the sky is the right shade of blue,

when nothing seems to be the matter,

and you curl up with a blanket and a book,

or take a hot bath.

Those moments when you feel so content,

where everyone around you is smiling,

and you just can't seem to wipe the smile off your face.

When you sing loud in the car,

or catch a glimpse of something breathtaking,

when the snow is falling so magically,

or you feel loved perfectly despite your imperfections.

I love those moments. 

I live for them.

Magic is real,

I just know it is. 

I remember walking home from class my freshman year on my birthday.

It was in the end of February, and weather is never very good then.

But the sun was shining and it felt so good on my face.

I can remember exactly where I was at that moment, and I remember how it felt.

Magic.

I remember seeing my kids waiting for me at the front of the orphanage when our bus pulled in.

I remember dancing with them all night to the sounds of Peruvian voices and guitars.

I remember Jerry holding my hands and walking on my feet and smiling up with that toothless grin.

Magic.

I remember coming home for a weekend in the summer of 2009 and sleeping under the stars with my family.

Magic.

I remember driving down dirt roads this summer with the music up loud...singing at the top of our lungs,  and catching frogs in the muddy banks of the pond.

Magic.

Life is never perfect. 

But I think He gives us moments in which we glimpse for a moment what pure joy feels like.

It's that peaceful, calm, happy moment when nothing else seems to matter. 

Where even if all other things are wrong, you just know it will be ok.

I think that might be what eternity feels like.

I suppose I'll have to wait to find out.

These are some of my favorite "magic" pictures on my pinterest account.

I think the older I get, and the more I make the distinction between what matters and what doesn't,

I have more and more "magic" moments.

It's more of the feeling than the circumstance or action.

That swelling in your heart. 

Magic.

In those moments, and always....

truly, my cup runneth over.