Another “count my blessings” post

It ain’t all pretty. In fact, it’s sometimes downright ugly. There are meltdowns, blowouts (quite frequent with the little man of the house), after school escorts by an unhappy teacher, standoffs, ugly words, and ugly actions by a mama who is a constant “work in progress”. Despite our shortcomings, we are tremendously blessed. All to often, it takes the words “cancer”, “death”, “childhood illness”, “infertility”, “foreclosure”, and “divorce” to make me realize this. Right now, I am praying for three young families that are dealing with hardships. Two of the families have young children and spouses with stage four cancer that has progressed to their major organs. The other family just welcomed twins. Unfortunately, one of the twins has a rare congenial heart defect that will require years of surgery and medical attention. As I lift up these families, I am reminded that meltdowns, unexpected bills, and never ending piles of laundry are nothing when compared to what many have to face. I’m also reminded to not let these things dictate my life. And especially not to let these things dictate my actions. And finally, I’m reminded that each day (good or bad) is a blessing!

Acknowledging God’s blessings has become a morning ritual for me; it sure beats  getting caught up in the drama on facebook or on the various media outlets. This morning, I was reminded of our “Norman Rockwell” weekend. One of those weekends where we spent all of our time together as a family. A weekend of hiking, visiting, eating ice cream, and congregating with others at a new members luncheon at church. Meltdowns and all, it was perfect.

I am also reminded of a recent conversation I had with MR during an afternoon walk. After commenting on the beautiful day, MR looked up the sky and said, “mama, did you know God works in the clouds”? We’ve had a similar conversation in the past, but it usually revolved around “God living in the clouds”. A little baffled, I thought about how she used the word “works” instead of “lives” to describe God. Then it hit me. MR was right, He does work in the clouds. And although He works in ways we may never understand, He works tirelessly everyday for you and me!

May we remember to stop each day to count our blessings…

Note: On Friday (4/29/2011), sweet MR and I watched hour upon hour of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Such a beautiful event and special occasion to share with my little princess. Another noteworthy event took place last night with the news of Bin Laden’s death. This event will hopefully bring closure and peace to all of the families who were affected by the tragic events of 9/11.

We spent much of Saturday with the Lewis family. Aunt Lynn is the equivalent to Santa Claus to MR. She has been so generous to our family and we love every second we get to spend with her! MR also adores her youngest son, Joshua.

Huttie slept in the swing while the big kids played.

On Sunday, G treated us to icecream after the new members luncheon at church.

Next time, we will order a medium for Huttie. He matched us bite for bite.