Day 267 - Being Beth's Ghost

 


I'm Sarah. I have never been a ghost writer OR a guest writer, but I'm honored to do it a couple of times for Beth while she is away. I admire the fact that she wants to continue this journey and keep to her goal of 365 days of gratitude, despite the fact that...well...she's not here. :) She is one of the people who helped inspire me to begin my OWN gratitude journey. Though the way we go about it is a little different, our focus is the same--to really, truly grasp that every moment and every situation, good or bad, is a chance to be thankful.

So today, I'm grateful for...

Food poisoning. Yes, you read it correctly. I HATE that my youngest son and my husband are sick, but they are alive and recovering. When a member of my family is really sick like this, it gives me an opportunity to think about what I would do if I ever lost them. That makes me all the more grateful for their presence in my life. My family means the world to me, even when they drive me crazy. :)

Sunrise. After a long night of sleeping on the family room floor with my puking 4-year-old, seeing the sunrise was a reminder that every day is a new mercy. I need to be reminded sometimes that, even though it's not a do-over, every morning is a chance to fix myself on the goal of living a life of gratitude. I hate to say it, but I don't always start out my days that way. *sheepishly hides eyes* Oops.

True friends. 'Nuff said.

My in-laws. I know people who have horror stories about their in-laws and about arguing and control and passive-aggression. I have the blessing of saying that my in-laws are lovely people. They are simple people who don't put on airs. They aren't condescending. They aren't rude or self-absorbed. When they are visiting, they are always ready to help. AND they laugh at my jokes, which endears them to me all the more. (People don't always laugh at my jokes...shocking, I know.)

Thinking things through. I'm often a "jump-the-gun" kind of person, but lately I've been taking more time to think things through before I say them or do them. Maybe I'm maturing a little, I don't know. I hope I am. I'm normally a reactor rather than a responder, so I am trying to focus on responding deliberately rather than rashly, as I'm prone to do. *again, sheepishly hides eyes* Oops.

Faith. I have seen miracles in my lifetime--big ones, at that--but it's the faith for the small things that I find I need most. I'm grateful that God is always with me to build my faith, and to show me that he's with me for the long haul.

I hope that today you can open the eyes of your heart to see the miracles in your life. I hope you grab on to the people you love the most and hold them tight. If you've started off the day badly, I hope that you take this moment as an opportunity to press the "Reset" button, take a deep breath and start again from a place of gratitude. Every moment is a gift, even though it's hard to remember that sometimes.


Sarah Colligan
http://hatchingofaheart.blogspot.com/