Whatever Things Are Lovely…

Have you ever had a night when your sleep was interrupted? Last night our smoke alarm began to chirp at one a.m. We solved that little problem and then Buddy, our dog, whined nonstop from his crate. Although I eventually drifted off to dreamland… morning came sooner than I would have liked.

I stumbled into the kitchen feeling grouchy and desperate for coffee. After my first cup, I opened my book of devotions to this verse of scripture:

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

I admit, considering my rough night of little sleep, I couldn’t immediately think of much loveliness in the world. In fact the world appears to be a very broken place. Yet, the bible directs us to search for those things which are excellent or praiseworthy as if we were searching for treasure. And when we unearth something lovely, we are to praise God for it. Furthermore, telling people about our discoveries helps them find beauty and meaning in their lives.

Suddenly I remembered an incident which happened at a recent book signing. A man approached our table and looked at Buddy with adoring eyes. The stranger reached into his wallet and handed me a twenty dollar bill. He said, “Please give a book set to any child you wish.” Then he walked away.

I was amazed at his generosity. Soon, a family came by with four young children. Their eyes widened in surprise when I told them they could have a set of books for free.

To me, this was a good example of something praiseworthy. I thanked God for the stranger’s generosity and decided to share the incident with you. Loveliness is not far from any of us. May you find beauty and meaning in your life today.