Day 38, February 7

During the course of Larry's and my nearly 38 years of marriage (a miracle when you consider that I am only 29), I have backed various cars into Larry's car, our daughter's car, a fence, the garage door, and an apartment building wall--I was trying to avoid a bird in the parking lot.

Larry has always been very patient with my backing sins. Still, one day I felt the need to defend myself and pointed out that I had never hit a moving object. Without missing a beat, he replied, "That's because they can get out of your way."

My record almost changed yesterday as I drove home from church, with two of my grandchildren in the backseat. In preparing to change lanes, I did everything right: I switched on the turn signal, I checked both my rear view and side view mirrors. Yes, I did everything but the most important thing. I neglected to look over my shoulder to check my blindspot. Because of that mistake, I almost clipped another car. The driver gave me a justifiably sharp blast of his horn, and, at a very cautious speed, I continued on home.

I tend to think of blessings as things that did happen: an unexpected check in the mail, an acceptance on a short story, or, rarely a book, a raise in my husband's salary. How often, though, am I grateful for the things that didn't happen? The accident that I somehow avoided. The flu that swept through the community that our children didn't contract. These blessings are equally as sweet, equally as powerful as those of a more visible, tangible nature.

So, for today, I am grateful for the accident that didn't happen ... and for the Father's loving care in watching over me and my precious cargo

Day 37, February 6

Yesterday my husband and I awoke to plumbing problems in the downstairs bathroom. I won't go into the gory details. Suffice it to say that plumbing problems are always inconvenient, disgustingly messy, and frequently expensive. (Why couldn't I have married a plumber?) With some muttering, we dealt with it as best we could.

I can hear you wondering, Is she going to say that she's grateful for a backed-up drain? Absolutely not.

Recently, I've had to stand by and watch loved ones endure painful events--health problems, divorce, and other challenges. While trying to help when I could and crying with them, I could not take away their grief, their fear, their heartache. My sense of helplesssness was exceeded only by my prayers in their behalf.

My heart wept for my friends, my family. Inconvenience, mess, and expense do not compare to witnessing the pain of family and friends. My prayers turned to begging my Father in Heaven for solace for His children.

So, for today, I am grateful for a reminder of what is important ... and what is not.

Day 36, February 5

Recently, a bitter cold spell has swept over much of the nation, paralyzing traffic, closing schools, sending hoardes of people to the grocery store to stock up on supplies. By the third day of temperatures well below zero, I found myself wishing away the cold, wishing away the entire season of winter.

Then I stopped and realized that I really didn't want to do away with winter. In Colorado, we are fortunate enough to experience every season to its fullest. I love the colors, the smells, the sounds of each season. The rich scarlets, saffrons, and ochers of autumn, flavored by the smoke of wood-burning stoves. The sun glistening off the winter snow, casting it with a myriad of shades of blues and golds. The tender greens and bold reds and purples of spring flowers. The hard bright blue of a summer sky, the sun a bowl of yellow, the rhythmic purr of a lawnmower punctuating the early morning.

When I started this blog, I said that it wouldn't be filled with scriptures. However, this entry begs for one of my favorite passages: "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven ..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

In reflecting upon the change of seasons, I thought of my own life. My season as a young mother has passed, my children grown, some with families of their own. That season has evolved into a different, more subtle kind of mothering, including grandchildren. My four grandchildren delight me with their curiosity, exhaust me with their energy, and fill me with wonder at the sheer joy they bring into my life.

Would I trade this season for another? No. Despite the problems that come with age, I love where I am right now and, sometimes, I even love who I am, who I am becoming. (I qualify that with the word "sometimes," because who can love a sagging body, arthritic hips, and bad feet?)

So, for today, I am grateful for the change of seasons ... in nature and in my life.

Day 35, February 4

Those who know me well know that I love to go sailing. Garage sailing, that is. I also love to go thrifting, haunting thrift stores and consignment stores for forgotten treasures. Among the things I look for are stray china plates, those orphaned from their original set.

On these plates, I place cookies or other treats to take to friends, church members, families with a new baby or those going through a difficult time. I ask that the recipients not return the plate and suggest that they fill it and pass it along.

I have been intrigued with the idea of "passing it along" far before the movie PAY IT FORWARD or the random acts of kindness movement made their appearance. Could I change the world, one small act at a time?

In a moment of self-examination, I reviewed the past week. A sweet friend sent me a no-occasion card. This prompted me to send a card to another friend. A second friend called me up for no reason, which, in turn, encouraged me to visit someone else.

This concept is certainly not new. Christ taught the concept two thousand years ago.

My reflections yielded two conclusions: I cannot change the world. I can, however, make my little part of the world better if I but care to look for the secret sorrows that inhabit the hearts of everyone.

So, for today, I am grateful for stray china plates ... and stray acts of kindness.

Day 34, February 3

As I've mentioned previously, I love words. I love the sound of them. I love the look of them. I love how they can be strung together to create poetry, stories, and books. Mostly, I love the power of them. Words have the power to challenge the mind, to touch the heart, to heal the spirit.

One of my passions is to collect good quotes. With that in mind, I would like to share a few of my favorite with you today:

Some see a hopeless end, while others see an endless hope.--Author unknown

A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.--William Arthur Ward

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.--Dan Rather

It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years.--Abraham Lincoln.

We acquire the strength we have overcome.--Ralph Waldo Emerson

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.--Winston Churchill

A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.--Eleanor Roosevelt

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.--Dorothy Bernard

Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.--Art Linkletter

I always prefer to believe the best of everybody, it saves so much trouble.--Rudyard Kipling

If I had to sum up Friendship in one word, it would be Comfort.--Terri Guillemets

You, undoubtedly, have your own favorite sayings that sustain you, comfort you, make you laugh. I challenge you to share them with others--maybe make up your own. Who knows, you may be quoted!

So, for today, I am grateful for words that inspire.

Day 33, February 2

I have never been a fan of the ground hog. He has always seemed a wimpy, lazy creature, who, if he pokes his nose out and doesn't like what he sees, crawls back into his hole and hibernates for another six weeks.

Recently, some dear friends received devastating news. They met it head-on, forging ahead to do what was necessary. They did not climb into a hole and bury themselves. They did not whine or complain. They marched into the unknown and fully expect to emerge triumphant.

I cannot help but compare their attitude to that of those people who are smeared with the taint of entitlement. These individuals claim that life has dealt with them unfairly, demanding preferential treatment. They whine with every word and wear their entitlement like a hair coat, exhausting all those unfortunate enough to come into contact with them.

I think of my friends who rely on prayer and the Lord. They give of themselves, always thinking of others, even when life throws them a curve.

So, for today, I am grateful for my friends who face adversitiy with courage and grace and go forward in faith.

Day 32, February 1

It has been a month since I started "The Gratitude Project." Thank you to those who have borne with me during this month of discovery. When I started this blog, I voiced my doubts to my oldest son, Rob, of whether I had the emotional, mental, and spiritual energy to keep it up for a year.

Wisely, he counseled me to think of every day as New Year's Day, where determination is at its highest. "You can do anything for one day," he said.

Some days, I write and feel that the words are put in my mind by a Divine hand and that I am but a scribe. Other days, I grope and struggle for every word. Too frequently, I am filled with self-doubt, wondering if my words are touching anyone, wondering if I am making a difference.

The hard things in my life haven't changed: People I love are still beset by health challenges and heart-breaking problems. I am still a selfish person with more than my share of weaknesses and sins. But, and this is important, but I feel my heart softening, imperceptibly, as I turn to my Father in gratitude.

So, for today, I am grateful for this day.