“Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” (Elizabeth Barrett Browning). If we are struggling to find evidence of God and His love for us, then we are simply not paying close enough attention. Our Heavenly Father has placed on Earth things that are meant to delight and thrill and awe each of us. He offers us daily glimpses, and often more than glimpses, of what Heaven will be like, not only to lighten our load and to gladden our heart but to prepare us for the incomprehensible joy and the fullness of glory that awaits us. Some of us need to spend a little less time trying to speed run through this mortal life so that we can get all of the nasty bits over with and then have more time to enjoy our just desserts in heaven. An important part of Heaven is here right now and can only be truly enjoyed as we are right now in our half finished and unperfected state. I hope that we can all learn to not only stop and smell the roses but to take off our shoes and see the fire of God blazing forth from every rosebush.
