This is a phrase that has been rolling around my tired, on vacation brain lately. As my family approaches a major transition, I am find myself looking around me and noticing the blessings that are...
...right in front of me
...in my every day
...surprising me
...living with me.
I have felt overwhelmed these last few weeks as I reminisce on what has been a lifetime of love, laughter, tears and struggles. My heart is full thinking about the life we have lived here in Mississauga and the many blessings that have come with that. Blessings too many to mention. Blessings that just...are.
The depth of this emotion has caused me to not just reflect and think good and happy thoughts about these blessings, letting that warm fuzzy feeling envelope my soul. No, I want to embrace these blessings. I want to hold them in my arms, tuck them close to my heart. Like picking up a newborn baby, I have that "never wanting to put you down" kind of feeling. The people who have become my constants, my friends, my supports in our deep health journey, my banner holders in our celebrations. I think about you and know that God put you in our lives to walk a deep journey. And along this journey we both learned more about each other and about a God who loves us, who never leaves us, who embraces us. Like Mary, I will "treasure all these things up and ponder them in [my] heart", for these are blessings that come from God. These are the gifts of God that have changed me, shaped me, pointed me in the right direction. These are the blessings that just...are.
Blessings come in all shapes and sizes, all colours and varieties, in all ways, in all days.
They come in people.
They come in moments.
They come in packages.
They come in words.
They came in a Baby.
Our lives are full of good things. Maybe you saw that in the presents under your tree this Christmas season. But, maybe you didn't. Maybe you saw that in the times spent with family and friends as you enjoyed the love and laughter of special times with special people this Christmas. But, maybe you didn't. Whatever your situation is this Christmas and New Year's season, I encourage you to look around and find the blessings that are there. Look for the small things and the big things, the hidden things and the obvious things, the quiet things, and yes, even the loud things. Where is the blessing of the Baby in your life this Christmas?
Pause. Stop. Ponder. Peer into your life and embrace the blessings that...are.
