Attitude of Gratitude- One Thousand Gifts

“Every good and perfect gift is from above; coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17.

I have been blessed with much, and challenged by a fellow blogger to share that with you. My hope is to dig a bit deeper into my blessings and maybe learn something about myself in the process. Maybe in this, you’ll be inspired to develop your list of 1000 gifts- let me know if you do!

1. My very existence past the age of 7 is a gift from God. I had a seizure at school and almost quit breathing twice on the way to the hospital. Mom says that she knew at that point (again!) that God had great things for me to do.

2. My voice. I was blessed with vocal talent. My husband, who does not sing, will tell you that. He doesn’t sing, but he tells me that he knows bad vocals when he hears them. Some American Idol auditions make him run screaming to the other room.

3. My mother taught me to love singing early on. She taught me enough piano so that I could learn to read music, so it makes it much easier to sing parts also. And I like singing second soprano and alto when I get the chance, just for the challenge sometimes.

4. It’s hard to see now that we’re in March, but the snow is a gift. I’ve heard that it will do its part to keep us from needing so much rain this summer.

5. My mother in law’s love of all things that grow is about to be a gift to me. She has big plans for my yard and flower boxes this spring and summer. I just hope that whatever she plants can be neglected to a point, because I tend to do that.

6. I love to read, and I think that Mom deserves some of the credit for this too. And I have been lucky enough in recent years to be able to borrow books from her that she has read that she thinks that I’d enjoy. It’s always fun to hear her say “Oh, I’ve got a book you might like to read.”

7. I saw a little bird in my backyard yesterday. While I don’t know what type it was (my mother-in-law is good for that too!) I do know that it wasn’t a robin or a crow. And that has to mean that Spring is coming, doesn’t it?

8. My brother celebrates his birthday today; he’s now a quarter of a century old. That seems impossible…but that’s just all in my head. While we didn’t have much if any relationship when he was growing up (I’m 9.5 yrs older….) I have been blessed with being able to have relationship with him now. That means a lot to me.

9. My relationship with Jon has been a blessing to me. While we have had our share of hard times and difficult moments, I am really fortunate to have him beside me on this journey. I look forward with great anticipation to what that will mean for our future.

10. Being the mother of sons is interesting. On one hand, I have no idea what I am doing and I am scared to death. On the other hand, I don’t worry so much as I do the best I can and leave the rest up to God. I sleep better that way.