counting the little things

I keep a notebook where I write down God’s gifts to me.  Sometimes they are little things, a rainbow tucked in the clouds, a letter in the mail, or a much needed cup of tea.  Other times my gifts are on a much deeper level, a doctor visit, a friendship restored, or the opening of my eyes to a part of God’s character I had never seen before.

I can not tell you how beautiful my life looks through the lenses of these recorded gifts.  The notebook is really my history over the past year or so and how much I love my life after reading just a little bit of it.  How much I love God.  It’s funny, I know that some of the portions in this book were written through very tough times.  There is a hint of that bitter sweetness in the pages, but the joy there by far out weighs it.  I promise, by far.  It is so interesting to see how the pain has faded and no longer stings but the joy, ah it remains as fresh and radiant as when the ink was still wet on the paper.  

Often when we are ill the world looks very bleak and our lives brim over with dryness and pain.  There is nothing cheerful to write to those friends who urge us in their emails to tell them about ourselves.  There is nothing hopeful to report to our family when they call.  It is hard some days to see God’s many gifts to us because we remember too keenly the ones He has allowed to depart from us for a time.  No matter how hard it is though we must look and search for the gifts anyway for who can live with out joy and hope?  and that is truly what this cultivates in our hearts.  No matter how many bad things are in our lives I assure you there are beautiful things to be found too.

There is always something to rejoice over, even if it seems a bitter thing to be glad about.  I have found myself truly grateful for the most unusual things while in this valley of mine.  Thankful for almost passing out one time, excited about a doctor visit, glad to have my blood drawn, so grateful as a new symptom sets in that it has not plagued me before now.  Does this seem to good and syrupy to be true?  finding God’s gifts among ‘bad’ things.  I must admit I am the most amazed of anyone, because I have not forced myself or just pretended to be grateful for these things, I truly am!  God has truly made me glad, and what a deep and abiding gladness there is when we recognize His very vigilant care for us.

How many times a day does God whisper ‘I love you’ to us?  How many of those times do we not even hear?  How sad to miss even one of those precious gifts, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.  So my challenge to you? Start listening and start recording.  I think you will be amazed as I have been, once you purposefully open your eyes, at how very much God is giving you every single day.  Yes, even through the pain, yes, even through the tears.  That’s what is so great about God’s love - not even our earthly trials can dim or cheapen in.  They only bring it into focus