Here at the close of another day I reflect as always on the things I am grateful for, either for what has transpired in this day in particular or general thoughts I have about the gifts and blessings that surround me moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. The very fact that my heart is beating and I draw breath in and out with ease is such a gift. I have watched my children at various points work to take easy breaths in and out as they struggled with asthma in their early lives and witnessed the gasping breaths my father took as he labored to breathe in the last hours of his life. I appreciate the breath that oxygenates my blood and carries strength throughout my whole body. It all works wondrously together in this amazing dance of particles, molecules, cells, organs, and systems in remarkable synchronization. And I know that I am indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.
From the lakes, from the hills, from the skyAll is well, safely rest
God is nigh.
As I prepare to take my rest for the night, I remind myself that all is well. Over the course of any given day, week things happen that shake up my sense of equanimity and balance. I can get ill-tempered and cranky or the blues creep in. But most days I can take a few breaths and get hold of myself and remind myself that indeed all is well. Throughout the course of my most challenging days, I have told myself that all is well (or all shall be well). It has become one of those assurances I give myself (and others around me who are experiencing moments of panic.) It is not a pollyannaish approach to life, it’s about having faith that even if all is not well in a given moment, all shall be well if I can stand strong in the midst of the storm. All is well, safely rest. God is nigh. And so it is.
This has been a good day, a much more productive one than yesterday; though productivity is not necessarily the only or primary measure of what makes a good day. It is a satisfying way to end one week and begin a new one. I am grateful to have completed a few household projects that I’d been wanting to get done, though I still have not managed to put away the last vestiges of Christmas decorations–yes, nearly two months after the holiday my creche is still sitting on the bookshelf where Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus are still hanging out in the manger. They are not directly in my line of vision every day and so I forget they are there. The three kings on the shelf below still have to find their way home too. Perhaps I’ll get them put away before Easter.
Gratitude takes on all kinds of forms, particularly in this blog. Sometimes I hit it out of the park and others it’s a foul tip into the catcher’s glove or I strike out entirely. The funny and unpredictable part of this all is that different people find different posts valuable, and sometimes those posts that I struggle with are just what someone needed to hear. I hope that those who read this post find value somewhere in tonight’s wacky, disjointed thoughts. I’m grateful for your coming along on the journey no matter where it takes us. Y’all come back now, hear?
