Glorious!
One of the highlights of my week is teaching Latin to two of my grandchildren! You didn’t know that I had it in me, did you?
I was actually a high school Latin teacher for several years while we lived in North Carolina. During those fun years, I also had the privilege to teach Latin to 100’s of homeschool students in the same region.
My … my … my … the memories and the challenges of those years.
I became so fluent in what some people consider to be a dead language that I actually started dreaming in Latin … who does that?!
But now, in this season of my life, I only have two precocious, enthusiastic, darling students.
Every Monday, Olivia who is 11 and Wesley who is 9, sit at my kitchen table with me. We dig into verbs, nouns, conjugations, declensions, derivatives, translations and history.
It is a whole lot more fun than it sounds, believe me!
This week, one of their assignments was to make a list of English derivatives from their Latin vocabulary words and then use the derivatives in an appropriate sentence.
Wesley is an athlete, a scholar, a budding musician and has a twinkle in his little blue eyes that is just irresistible to me, his Marmee and his Latin teacher.
I couldn’t wait to hear what he had come up with!
When it came time for him to share the English derivative for the Latin word, “gloria, gloriae”, he instantly said, “Glorious!”
Glorious! I love the way that word sounds as it rolls across my tongue.
Glorious!
As I waited for the accompanying sentence from my brilliant little scholar, he laid his book down, took an imaginary baseball stance, and loudly declared, “Baseball is glorious!”
Who said that Latin is dead?!!
Olivia and I grinned at his enthusiasm and I agreed that baseball is glorious when you are 9 years old and can’t wait to hit another ball.
After my incredible protégés left my home that afternoon, I couldn’t get the word “glorious” to leave me alone.
I pondered what glorious means exactly …
I lingered upon glorious moments of my life thus far …
I brought to mind songs with the word “glorious” tucked enthusiastically into their lyrics …
And I thought of scriptures that described eternity’s opinion on the word “glorious”!
To a 9-year-old boy … baseball is glorious.
To a woman with 6 decades of life packed into her overflowing heart … this is what is simply but profound glorious:
Worship is glorious!
Gathering with those I love dearly is glorious beyond description!
A friend who prays for you and cries with you is a glorious gift!
The face of a baby so fresh from heaven is … well. … there is no other word but glorious!
Singing a hymn of Christmas in the darkness of a hushed sanctuary that is only lit by the flickering of candles is wondrously glorious.
Counting one’s blessings is a glorious discipline in life.
Walking through the grandeur of God’s creation during any season of the year is glorious to all of the earthly senses.
A quiet, but meaningful conversation, with my husband of 42 years is glorious, indeed.
Talking to my mom on the phone is glorious to my heart.
My list of glorious experiences is mostly just that… it is a memorable list of temporary life experiences.
As much as Wesley loves baseball … I concurrently delight in babies, family, friends, creation and in my faith.
And so, as I pondered this wonderful word on a deeper level, I decided to include the glory of Scripture in my ability to wring the joy out of the word “glorious”.
“Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.” – I Chronicles 29:13
His Name is glorious!
“The King’s daughter is all glorious within…” – Psalm 45:13
The Father thinks that I am glorious … what a wonder!!
“Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious.” – Psalm 66:2
When I praise Him – it is glorious!!
“On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.” – Psalm 145:5
Thinking about Him is a glorious past time for someone such as I.
We live in a glorious world … we are the recipients of a glorious grace … and we get to sing a glorious song of praise for anyone who will listen!
And when we play baseball … or bake a pie … or love a neighbor … or spend time with children … or encourage our family … the glory of Christ oozes out of our pores and into our world.
I dare you … make today glorious!
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!