Positively Thankful

Been grumpy lately. I keep blaming it on lack of sunshine and too long a winter. But really? If that's all I have to complain about, why complain at all? I sit in my home and think "I am so blessed."

So much space. So much beauty. It is built up off the ground. No dirt. It has insulation and a roof. It doesn't leak. I have furniture. I am not sitting on the ground, but instead in a fluffy, comfy, feet in the air chaise lounger. I have an entire wall of plants indoors. I am constantly reminded of the splendor of God's creation. My begonias have been blooming since I brought them in last October.  Still are.  My geraniums just bloomed two weeks ago. My amaryllis is back stretching its arms to the Lord. I cut it to the dirt about mid-winter. The multiple shades of green are balm to a dry season of doldrums. 

I look around the walls and see many of my friends from Haiti, as well as teams of friends that have traveled there with me. Everyone is smiling. My son arrived back from Haiti again two weeks ago. He just bought tickets so that he could return in June to finish up some work on a clinic. This time he is able to take not only his wife, brother, sister-in-law, and an additional friend, but circumstances are allowing him to also take his father. His father! I can't imagine how much my son is going to enjoy showing his dad all that he has been trying to describe to him through his own experiences for more than 12, 13 years now! [sigh]

I was browsing Facebook this morning and saw some pics of two of my Grands. My, my, my... They make me laugh and smile and bubble up inside every time I see them.  This time one is playing dress up with her blankee and the other is paying bills with his keyboard and piggy bank. When I say, "I am blessed", I am saying that I have a multitude of blessings in my life, spread all around me... and I haven't even left the living room yet this morning! 

A friend and colleague called me yesterday to see if I had heard about her 19 year old niece who had died suddenly in a car accident. The young woman's grandparents attend our church.  I shared that I had, but I was glad to have a moment with her just to see how everyone was doing. She told me that her niece's last post on facebook basically asked the question, "If you only had today, what you were thankful for yesterday, what would remain?" Wow. [sigh]  Not much!  I'm not sure I said "thank you" for anything yesterday, short of thanking God for my food before dinner, and for leading us in planning during a meeting last night. 

So for a moment, I just want to say that I am very thankful for many things/people/situations that touched me yesterday and I surely hope they remain as long as possible in my life. My husband is steady, strong, and works really hard. He loves me deeply and though not a romantic, his love for me is active, tangible, and real. For him I am thankful. A couple of women who volunteer at our church come to mind. Lois is always so full of life and Light. Yesterday she sat at the welcome desk sharing how much she appreciated my husband. She is so complimentary. I took a girlie break in the day and stood there flipping through an Avon book while absorbing her beauty. I am so very thankful for her. And then there is Jeanne. Oh my, what a gal! Always serving, always smiling, always giving a kind word... from the heart. She typed up an entire script of the Lord's last night before his death. I had done it once about 15 years ago and have been frantically trying to find it since the move. No luck. She retyped the entire thing for me. Yah. She's a gem. I am very thankful for her in my life.

And then there's my Traditional Worship Team, my Contemporary Worship Director, my awesome Office Manager who speaks with different accents just to be silly, many of my colleagues who were in the building yesterday for a district meeting... and the list goes on. I can't forget my Sassy cat, as she crawls back up on my arm and half of my laptop to settle in. A pest, often. Appreciated and thankful I have her? Oh yes. Indoor plumbing, a car that runs, gas money, ample food, running water, accessible electricity, books surrounding me, access to the world through internet... I am thankful for all of it.

Then why do I get grumpy over a little lack of sunshine and several months of ridiculous snowfall? Because I can, I suppose. A dear friend, Wayne, posted this morning a new page that encourages kind words to others... just because it makes for a better world. :-) He made me smile. He made me think about what I am thankful for. He made me stop being a grump.

And here I consider myself the most positive person I know. Ha! … when I choose to be.