TODAY'S GIFTS

Lord, I thank you for today's gifts:
The dew upon the grass at early dawn,

The  visiting of the crickets,
The sunrise and sunsets
The laughter of little children

The pillow for my weary head
The tightness of your embrace, as I cry.
The depth, the width, and the warmth of your love

that continues to hold me steady.

Thank you, Lord for the love reflected
in my Johnny's eyes, for his quiet strength,

and his amazing sense of humor that

unexpectedly causes laughter to echo
through our house.
These are hard days, even harder nights,
but you never fail me.
The more difficult the trial,

the quicker your response.

Thank you for helping me be brave,

for filling me with strength, and for helping

me find the right words to uplift my children

as we walk this path together.
You are my heart, Lord.
Without You, I would cease

to live and move and breathe..
Stay close to me, I pray. Let me not waste moments,

walking through life as though on rainy streets.
Help me focus on the SON so that though my trial is hard,

my heart is sunny.

Gratitude

Just for today, watch for the blessings. Even if you're going through difficult times, if you look hard enough, you'll find them.

I've been told, thankfully not for awhile, that I view the world and people through rose-colored glasses. I really don't! What I do, is look beyond what  my eyes see- to the
potential--to what will be after the trial has passed, after the person has changed, or come to understand himself/herself a little better.

To focus on the dark side of life: our sadness, fears, worries, concerns, etc, is a waste of time. It does nothing for for us except raise our blood-pressure, cause our stomachs to become nauseous, our insides to shake. Dwelling on the trial itself deepens our pain, makes our blue mood even bluer, our depression worse, often creates insomnia and a host of other uncomfortable ailments.

Sometimes, after reading what I've written, I can almost see in my mind, the expression on people's faces, as what I write often seems to make no sense, does perhaps appear too simplistic. After all, if we hurt- we HURT!
  "One can't simply turn OFF their pain, worries, or fears." a friend once told me. That is true. I guess what I'm trying to do ( obviously not very well), is to help people who are going though rough times to understand the value and wisdom in acceptance.

For instance:When my husband walked into the house not long ago and said, "honey, my doctor says he has done all he can do for me. The only thing left is to make me as pain free and comfortable as he can."
I resisted  that statement. Every fibre of my being resisted it. I hated it! Did not want to believe it was true- didn't want to hear any more. But my unwillingness to accept it did not change what was true. Bad news had just blown a huge hole into my comfort zone. That's what happened to you too, when life's trials found your house.
Both of us reacted..and strongly to what was making us hurt.

Better it is, Just For Today, to accept the trials with as much ease as we do the blessings. It's not the trial itself that makes acceptance easier, but the fact that GOD is right where He promised to be..with us.

Today, our comfort zone has been enlarged, way more than we'd like. Our living-room will,  in a few hours, contain my sweet husband's hospital bed. A nurse will be coming to explain about his meds. Then other people will file in and out of our home, each visit deepening our pain. I am, in a very short time going to be losing the love of my life. Though our life has seen many trials, our deep love for each other has always brought the sun back after the trial passed.

I am blessed beyond measure for having known this man, for having him choose me, in the awesome way he did. I'm blessed ...richly so, because only recently has he accepted the Lord.

Today, praise God for your loved ones. Give thanks for the things that have made you smile, laugh, and yes, cry too, for it's the moments of life as a whole that create the lasting memories; the ones that will see you through anything.

I want to thank those of you who have taken time to send me encouragement via email. Those unexpected cards and messages have lifted my spirits. They always seemed to come when I was feeling the worst. God's timing is perfect!

Life passes quickly, so create beautiful memories today.