Today I am grateful. I think I often trend toward gratitude, but lately I have been feeling it in extra doses, largely because of my friend Jen. You can read about Jen's miracles here (throw a prayer or two her way while you're at it!). Suffice it to say that Jen's journey has put our blessings in the forefront of my mind.
If you have read my blog before, you know that we don't have a perfect life. We worry. We cry. We disagree. We ache. But as I look back over the 30 (almost 31!) years of my life, I can see God's hand through all of the difficulty, and I feel happy inside. Today I have been thinking of my life like a pop-up book. It's all there, standing up in paper-cut-out form. People, day-to-day tasks, stresses, responsibilities...all the things that fill my waking hours. But if I look at it through a lens of gratitude and faith, all the stresses fall down, and what's left standing is all goodness and blessings. I can see that even in the hard times--maybe most especially in the hard times--He is there.
When we moved to South Carolina, we sort of stumbled our way here with holes in our shoes and landed in a heap of dust and weariness. We were happy, but feeling a little beat-up by the hard parts of the previous 6 years. The last year and a half of calm, peaceful stability has felt like a true gift from God. We are more whole than we have ever been. Every day we feel more rested and rejuvenated and grateful for the calm midst the storm.
I know that life is fragile. I know that something could happen tomorrow afternoon that would turn our lives upside down. We have come through hard times, and will yet go through many more. (When I think of things like that, I often think of this one of my favorite-ever talks.) But for today...I feel blessed. And I have to write it down. For me, later. And for my children. So here is my gratitude list for today:
I'm Grateful...
- that I love it when David is home
- for four beautiful, healthy children
- for the energy and ability to work for my family
- that David has a stable job with good benefits
- that both my jobs have minimal impact on our family
- for a big backyard with a growing vegetable garden
- for restful sleep last night and Zumba in my living room early this morning
- for a healthy, strong, pain-free body
- for the marital interdependence that living far from family has caused David and me to develop
- that we are zoned for a fantastic elementary school and have had amazing teachers for our kids
- for the ability to create things and to pursue passions
- for living parents (both sides), siblings (both sides), and spouses
- for therapy, insight, and growth
- for ice-cold water and friends with swimming pools in the deep South humidity and heat
- for Kai's chubby knuckles and the way he says, "Mom? Wah-oh (rocker)?" when he wants to be rocked in the rocking chair before sleeping
- for Dane's hilarious and thoughtful comments, and boldness in talking to strangers
- for Haven's bravery in swim lessons these past two weeks and answered prayer on David's birthday (she prayed fervently that he could stay home from work that day, and unbelievably, his outreach event was canceled and his boss sent him home at 10am...first time that's ever happened)
- for Elijah's unabashed belly laugh last night when I showed him YouTube blooper videos before bed
- for the beautiful yellow bird we spotted on our birdfeeder this morning
- for grace
2 comments:
Lindsey... I am grateful for you.
I am grateful to have such an uplifting blog to read from an old friend! So glad to have met you all those years ago and still be your friend! Love reading your blog.
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