My sweet friend at Sugar Tails recently exposed me to a wonderful blogger – Ann at a Holy Experience. A mama of six, she home-schools her brood and is married to a farmer. It makes me tired simply to read this sentence about her.
Each Monday, she asks those of us looking at the concept of gratitude in our lives to list the things we are grateful to have. Her goal is that we reach 1,000 things to be grateful for which will allow us to take note of the small and big things that add-up to really it all being big.
I’m starting today.
The concept of gratitude is one that I personally struggle with. I am so blessed – beyond measure. I don’t want for much. I don’t worry about how I will feed my children. I don’t have to calculate prices while I am grocery shopping. I don’t have dirt floors in my house and I have indoor plumbing. My drinking water is safe and clean.
And yet.
I struggle with wanting more. A bigger house. A pool. A basement.
And so my gratitude journey begins…
The past four days have been a mix of joy and pain. I can hear Rob Base singing the song now.
Sweet Lora and Brian were married in a beautiful ceremony and a perfect reception. I had so much fun with my other precious cousins and the rest of our crazy family (Singing “Tiny Dancer” word-for-word with my mom and aunt? Priceless.) It whetted our appetite for the next family wedding in a few weeks in Wisconsin.
We loved celebrating their young marriage – it was a gift to us as a family to be included in such an intimate and wonderful memory. Plus, the flower girl was pretty darn cute – even if she wilted by 8:30 that night.
At the same time, dear friends of ours are involved in a web of deception that is proving to me that someone I don’t like very well has a stranglehold on their lives right now. Our hearts are beyond broken. We love them so much and we want nothing more than healing and reconstruction to occur.
However, we are painfully aware that this is something that cannot be hurried. This is something that will have to happen over time. Trust will need to be earned again and grief will be prevailing for a while.
It is a joy and a sorrow. The sweet and the salty. The ying and the yang.
It is life.
Today, I find myself being thankful for so much. I thank God each and every day for:
1. A sweet flower girl that pulled it off just fine.
2. A husband that continues to amaze me with his integrity, his grace, his wisdom. Man, I love that man.
3. La Crema Chardonnay after the kids go to bed.
4. A front porch in which to drink said La Crema upon with the subject of #2.
5. Friends with a lake house that invite us to spend the day with them.
6. Snickers Fun Size bars
7. My three year old son saying tonight before bed that “Lora looked so pretty last night.” (I mean, really…Could this be any cuter?)
8. New daisy blooms in June
9. The large tummy of my almost-two-year-old baby that my husband thinks is abnormal and I think is beyond precious
10. Van Morrison’s music – particularly “Into the Mystic”
What is something that fills your heart with gratitude today? I would love to hear about it!
Mostly, I am grateful for God’s unwavering love for me. Much like the prodigal son, when I made the move towards Him, He came running to meet me.
Like you said, I am grateful for all that we’ve been blessed with. Every single day, I think about the lives of our Compassion children and their families. I can’t rectify the unfairness of why they are there and I am here. It is a reminder to be mindful of how I use the resources God has given me.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Saturday Morning’s Musings =-.
I think I am going to start too…it is easy to want so much all the time! I love Sugar Tails too! She is super fun!
.-= Missie´s last blog ..Twister =-.
Howdy! Grateful every morning to have quiet time while all the teenagers sleep in. I sip my hot coffee and get to soak in God. I am grateful for hot water for a shower. I am grateful for healthy kids, one super-awesome Sweetheart, and to be able to have a front porch to just sit and do nothing while I sip that hot coffee that I like so much!
I love your blog!
Blessings!
.-= Linda´s last blog ..Glorious Father’s Day Morning!!!! =-.
I’m so glad you’re doing this, Natalie! I am like you — so overly blessed that I’m spoiled rotten. :) I had watched other people count blessings and was dragging my feet until I realized that I NEED to do this. I need to look intentionally and count. Ever. Single. One. I’m sure I miss a few hundred along the way, but can’t believe how many I’ve already discovered that I’ve taken for granted.
By the way, Baby Girl will be a flower girl next weekend. I’m just hoping she just wilt before the wedding starts. You can say a prayer for us. Heehee.
.-= GlowinGirl´s last blog ..My Father, My Dad =-.
Yes to #10! I thought I was the only one who adored that song. And yes, I have much to be thankful for. While my friend in preparing for a walk to honor the death of her infant son, I am preparing for not one but two birthdays in as many upcoming months of my own boys. Nothing else at all can beat that. Outside of God’s love for me, my life is rich beyond all wealth!
.-= Crystal´s last blog ..QUOTE YOU, Mamas =-.
What a beautiful list!!
.-= Lerin´s last blog ..Baby’s Day Out =-.
Well said, Natalie. It seems that often life is full of “sweet and salty” simultaneously. To be able to be present in them both is a gift…to not let the “salty” muddy the waters of the sweet and take away the joy being experienced there. To be able to dive into the “salty,” even when you’d rather stay with the sweet (or just plain take away the salt). Thanks for sharing your list of things to be grateful for, too.