Blessed

Sometimes I wonder if I should pinch myself – to make sure this isn’t all merely a dream? I’m so very lucky, so very blessed to have a wonderful hubby and sweet baby boy, amazing family and friends, a cozy home and a steady day-job, good health and precious time to spend with loved ones.

I’m truly at a lovely and fulfilling place in my life. I’m not bragging here. I don’t say any of this to boast. I say it to pay credit where it’s due.

Sometimes the blessings in life are BIG ones – the birth of a cherished baby, a good medical report, a miraculous answer to prayer, a resolution to a pressing financial problem.

Sometimes the blessings in life are more subtle - reconnecting with an old friend, receiving a warm letter from a loving family member, enjoying a day with a curious toddler, snuggling on the sofa with my sweetie, watching the sun set, or getting a garbage bag of free clothes.

Yes, I said it – garbage bag of free clothes.

Last week, there was a knock on our door. A sweet neighbor lady was standing there with a bulging Hefty bag hanging from her grasp. One of her children had received some hand-me-downs in sizes that they didn’t need.

Would I be interested? I could have anything in the bag that I thought I could use.

Was I interested?!? Ha! Of course I was!

My Little Helper enjoyed assisting me pull the items, one by one, from the bag. Shirts, dress slacks, swim trunks, running pants, jeans… the pile got bigger and bigger. The sizes ranged from 3T to 6. Little Guy is wearing 2T right now, so nothing was too small.

We laundered the items and carefully sorted them into waiting containers labeled with each size. I like to plan ahead, and had already started bins for the next few sizes. That way if I find an adorable outfit at a garage sale, I can snap it up and not worry that we’ll lose it before it will fit.

One of my favorite activities is ‘switching out’ the closet. Whenever Little Guy starts to outgrow his wardrobe, I head to the basement to get the next bin. When the “new” clothes are in the closet, I launder and store the outgrown ones. If we are ever blessed with another little boy, we’ll have a full wardrobe right off the bat. If we have a girl, we might need to do a little shopping for pink, but that would be fun too – so I won’t complain.

That surprise garbage bag was certainly a blessing. This post isn’t really about free clothes though. I am, of course very thankful for that generous gift from my neighbor, but the intent behind this particular posting is bigger than that.

It’s about the feeling of contentment and happiness that has come over me again lately. I’ve had this feeling before. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to start a blog, was that I wanted the world to know that life can be (and is often) very, very good. I've always been a fairly positive person, but for a bit there, I let myself get sidetracked by some things that came up which worried and distracted me. Now, I’m back, and so very grateful to be HERE, in this time and place.

On days like today, when the sun is shining, my fellas are happy, my family is healthy, a four day weekend is right around the corner and life just seems so amazing and bursting with promise – I want to stand on the rooftop and send a big Thank You to the ONE who blesses me (in the big ways and in the small ways). In reality, I won’t be crawling up on rooftops any time soon. The ladder is a bit rickety and I am not a fan of heights… so instead, I’ll post my feeling here - for any willing eye to read:

Let it be known: We are grateful. We are lucky. We are blessed.

My sincere prayer for you, dear friend - is that you will feel the same way about wherever you are in the world. And if maybe you don’t feel it today, that the feeling will come soon.

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another."

- John 1:16 (NIV)

Image: Art Print by Pat Fischer. Buy it HERE