Blessings in Disguise

When you think of blessings, you might think of things like a new car, a trip to Hawaii or having a housekeeper (and all the moms say “Amen”!).  While those things are blessings, our biggest and most important blessings are most often little things, wrapped up in the busy-ness of life, instead of colorful paper and a shiny bow.

For example, I give you the month of April, on my calendar.  At first glance, it can appear to be a stressful and expensive month. In addition to our normal life, each year this month contains my birthday, my sister-in-laws birthday, our wedding anniversary, my oldest daughter’s birthday, and my twin great nieces’ birthdays.  In all honesty, I could look at April as being too hectic, too expensive, and a burden; but, if I choose to look at each of the events as the blessing they are, then April becomes an incredible month. Let me show you what I mean.

I turned 48 this year.  F.O.R.T.Y.E.I.G.H.T.  ya’ll. That’s like…old. That’s also 48 years of laughing, crying, and experiencing life. I’ve seen and done things in those 48 years that some people will never see and do (and I’ve lived to tell about it).   Getting older isn’t something to get upset over, it’s a celebration of our lives…and the fact that God in His Mercy kept us safe even when we didn’t know we were in harm’s way.

My oldest daughter turned 13 this year.  Thirteen.  That’s like….old too, but in an “oh my gosh, where did those 13 years go?” type of  old.   She’s turned into a beautiful, thoughtful young lady…but she’s still a little girl, and those two worlds collide and I get to walk it out with her.  It’s hard, ya’ll.  It’s one of my greatest joys.   I didn’t get that opportunity with our first child, so I cherish this time with the ones I do get to see grow.

My twin great-nieces turned 3 this year.   They were born at 28 weeks along, (twenty-eight, that’s LITTLE) with little expectancy to live.  Yet these two beautiful, funny little girls are celebrating three years of life, a life they almost didn’t have.  They are perfectly healthy, strong and incredibly smart.  We celebrate their lives this month.

We were able to attend a first birthday party for another beautiful miracle baby.  The Momma had undergone years of  fertility treatments with no success.  The doctors finally told her that she cannot have children.  After finally giving up on having her own child, she and her husband began the long and expensive process of adoption.  In the midst of all this, she became really sick.  Thinking she had the flu, she went to the doctor to find that what she had was MORNING SICKNESS that lasted all day for weeks on end.   You’ve never seen anyone as happy to be sick in your life!

My husband and I celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary this year.  We’ve been through a lot in those 15 years.  We’ve gained family and friends, and lost family and friends.  We’ve built a life and a home together.  It’s not always been easy, but here we are still standing together.  We don’t look like any of those TV couples, and we’re ok with that.

Life if full of “stuff”.  Choosing to see the blessings, in the midst of the all the stuff is completely up to you.