It’s hard to remember, when I am feeling blue or negative or some kind of general emotional malaise, to take time to really reflect on the goodness of God and the blessings of my life. I forget. I give lip service to the good things but dwelling on them and letting the feeling of gratefulness seep all the way through my bones doesn’t really seem to come naturally. The blessings are right there in plain view, encircled all around me, but I tend to ignore all of that in order to focus on the splinter of trouble.
It doesn’t feel like a splinter when I focus on it. It feels like a boulder rolling down a hill right toward me or a mama grizzly bent on punishing me for strolling too close to her cubs.
So let’s change my focus by magnifying goodness.
I have this husband, he’s peculiar. Peculiar in that he has made me the purpose of his life – me, imagine that. His purpose in life is to be my husband, to love me, to build me up, to be my friend. After 30 years it’s hard sometimes not to take it for granted. He does anything and everything for me. One of the top things I appreciate about him is that he is willing to call me out on my BS. That’s not easy. And he encourages me to do the same with him. And we both make it our goal to listen and make changes in order to be the best we can be and to live up to our stated ideals.
I am grateful that I have the quality of being an explorer. Not an explorer of my physical world so much – although I love to do that and hope to have more opportunities to do that in the near future. I mean, an explorer of possibilities, of solutions, of paths forged by Truth. My life has been enriched because of my own willingness to dig for the sparkling vein of truth and follow it wherever it leads.
If I may indulge in a little more self-praise, I love that I am a Truth connoisseur. The truth reveals itself in consistency of thought and in common sense. It is everywhere around us in nature. The truth loves to abide in deep reflection and in prayer and in intellectual honesty. The path of truth is a convergence.
I am grateful for the times I have been able to make heart connections with my six grandchildren. I am thankful to their parents for allowing me to have that opportunity. The grandparent experience, when fully embraced, is like no other.
little/big things:
a husband who will crush the life out of a lubber caught eating my fairy castle cactus.
a son who picks up the dead roach so I don’t have to.
a daughter who understands my foibles and forgives me.
kids who credit me with loving intentions even when the execution didn’t work out so well.
maturity that allows me to graciously accept a broken AC (for days) in the heat of Florida.
a safe haven of creative thought and execution where I can escape from emotional perils.
thank you Lord, for all these things.
