Tiny Offerings

Every spring and summer my kitchen counter is blessed with an abundance of various sized cups, saucers and vases that hold flowers and sometimes weeds that my daughters bring me. I love to look at these sweet little reminders of my blessings when I'm doing dishes and cooking in the kitchen. These tiny offerings are precious to me.
Often, I am my busiest when the girls bring me these flowers. I will be in the middle of cooking supper, getting ready to milk and have laundry and bathtime waiting, and they will pop in the door (repeatedly) to offer up these gifts. I am usually just getting ready to holler at them for "running in and out" when a little hand excitedly thrusts forward it's tiny offering. My frustration melts away and my heart is immediatly softened.
I can remember quite clearly, even though I must have been very little, a day when my twin sister and I brought my mother such a gift. It was a pair of tulips we picked for her from our own front yard. Tulips my mom had been waiting all winter to see bloom. I can remember her face when we gave them to her, it was a mix of pleasure and regret. She loved that we had done something for her and yet wished we hadn't picked THOSE flowers. She very lovingly accepted our gift and gently asked us not to pick those again.
This memory made me think about how my heavenly Father must feel when His children make small sacrifices or tiny offerings to Him. We don't always get the timing right and often miss the mark completely, but I know His heart is softened immediatly and He is always ready to gently correct and instruct us on how to get it right the next time.
I'm glad He accepts "tiny offerings" too.