I've been inspired lately by an author from Canada, whose blog I find myself reading almost daily.
I'm waiting to get her book from the library.
But, in the meantime, she's issued a dare to those of us following her blog.
A joy dare.
To be thankful for the little things that get overlooked in life.
And since my first visit to her site, I've been hooked, taking each day's dare and looking for the lovely around me.
Today's dare was: find three gifts that are almost gone
Goodness. Who thinks about that? Well, today, I did.
And when I looked for these treasures...the fleetng loveliness of my life that is about to whisper "good-bye", this is what I found:
snow...
we didn't get much this year...not nearly as much as I'd hoped for.
but, the few times that we were able to enjoy it have become treasured memories.
as I inhale the sweetness of spring, I think about things like garage sales and jogging
and I'm so grateful for the renewal that is upon us...
the tulips...
the green grass...
swings, slides...
parks, pools...
long days....
but I'm also thinking about the gift of winter - how sweet it was to be snuggled under one roof with the ones I love most.
Having nothing more important to do than play.
winter was all kinds of wonderful...and it is almost gone...
Lord, thank you for snow.
crawling...
sister is weeks - maybe days - away from taking her first steps
each time she lets go of the furniture that is supporting her and stands on sturdy legs, I tell myself,
"This could be it. Her first steps. And you will cry..."
because the baby days are fleeting...and because the pride of your child accomplishing something so significant is overwhelming
chubby knees being dragged along the carpet
fat fingers gripping the ground
peeking over her shoulder, just begging for me to chase her
crawling was all kinds of lovely...and it is almost gone.
Lord, thank you for crawling.
student loans...
for all the complaining I've done about these over the past 6 years, I can hardly believe that I'm giving thanks for them now.
consolidating, finding out they were sold to 6 different companies, re-consolidating, making payments, having the paymenet date switched, applying for interest rate reductions, going "paperless", online statements, passwords, logins,
keeping track of it all...ugh.
it has been NO FUN.
we've been working hard to get them paid off. throwing every extra penny at those dreaded loans.
and, Lord willing, by the arrival of summer, we will have reached our goal: a life loan-less-ness.
i haven't loved making the payments
but, they were a gift
the payments? well, maybe not the payments.
but the education? yes...that was a gift. and still is.
not everyone is so fortunate
to live in a time and place where learning is valued and the reaching of goals is possible.
so, i will give thanks for the opportunity to learn
to be educated
to grow
and for the fact that the United States government loaned me the money to make that possible.
student loans were a gift in disguise...and they are almost gone.
Lord, thank you for student loans.
I have never before stopped to thank God for the gifts in my life that are almost gone.
but after this exercise in gratitude, I think I might try it more often.
Lovely
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