Monday Morning Blessings

There is always something to be grateful for, even in despair. I can remember times when loss of a loved one, or sickness has come to a loved one and even in those moments, there is always a blessing to be found if one looks for it.

This morning, the house is quiet, still actually. I hear a cardinal singing out front. The hum of traffic from the distant highway and the clickety clack of my keyboard as I type. Chores are done, coffee in my favorite mug next to me.

Tomorrow is Melanie's birthday...she will be 26. How time has passed by so quickly. We will have a Hello Kitty birthday party for her, there is in her that same childlike enthusiasm for life that I know is in me too. Melissa is more like her dad in that she is more serious minded. Goal oriented, which considering I love her dad so much, its seen as a good thing, and then Melanie is a younger version of me in so many ways, which gives us a bond that is unique and I can understand her so well. And Steven, is a blending of the two of us. Part me, part his dad. How wonderful that they can all be so different and all be so amazingly wonderful to be around.

I am each and every day aware that our children are a blessing to us.

Steven has pneumonia and is under strict orders from his mother to do nothing, but I can see he is like his dad, feeling that tug to just get back to work and earn a living for his family. Please say a prayer for his recovery if you think of it.

In my day to day living, there are so many blessings, tiny ones, big ones and huge blessings.

The first rose bud of the season. Food from the garden. Strength to work hard. Good health.

Peace. The blessing of prayer, being able to talk to God on such a deep and personal level, not just by some memorized prayer that someone else wrote and told me to pray. Freedom. A home I love. No debt at all. The love that Emery so freely shows his family. That no one in our family has a temper. That we have achieved so many of our goals made 30 years ago. That not a single day goes by that I don't hear from my children. The love note I found last night from Emery, sitting on the table, a big grin on his face when I discovered it. And now the promise of rain this week when we so badly need it. See, there are small blessings and big ones and huge blessings.

Life is good and I mean that. Its not all roses of course. We have our challenges, but we have the strength to deal with them, and the faith that God is in control.

I have felt a deep connection with God lately, and He has answered my prayer regarding so much confusion on what He requires from us. It is His gift to me, this firm ground, away from the tossing waves and winds of change and I am filled with thankfulness for that.