Those things for which…

I’ve written it before, and I will say it again…life is a r.o.l.l.e.r.c.o.a.s.t.e.r. ride. Full of ups-and-downs. Twists-and-turns. Excitement and despair. Races won and battles lost. Small surprises and big opportunities. Loss and blessings. And embedded in it all are the most amazing hidden miracles and gifts.

At a very young age, I learned to pray in a way that a.l.w.a.y.s. began with gratitude. Listing those things for which I was most thankful. I broke it down into an extremely simple list, which as silly and artless as it may seem, included things such as the ability to walk. To talk. To laugh. To run. To smile. Yup. The very basics. Have you ever heard the quote, “What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?”

So, I went into detail. Of course, I included family members, friends, my job, house, dog, etc. And I have used the same prayer and way of praying for the past 10-15 years. I tried to include every. single. thing. I. would. want. to. wake. up. with., still. in. my. life., tomorrow. It might be a long list. But think about all of the sacrifices and blessings that have been bestowed upon you in your life. All of those personal moments when you managed to whisper, “Thank you, God.” You may then agree too that it is time to start spending a little extra measure, offering a few words of thanksgiving in response to all those things for which you are most grateful.

In our world, there is no certainty. I remember devoting moments, during each day of my pregnancies, praying for healthy babies to enter into our lives. I spent a year of my early childhood learning from my baby brother, who was born with a syndrome that caused serious medical problems and took him from our family and created him into an angel in Heaven shortly before he turned one-year-old. So, I never took a pregnancy or healthy baby/child for granted. And I still do not today.

One of the things for which I am most grateful on a daily basis is those moments when the girls are all happy and healthy. When their tiny, but growing, feet are kicking, climbing, running, swinging and relaxing. When their arms are flailing, pulling, tagging and creating. When their minds are spinning, questioning, realizing and sharing. Those are the things. The experiences. The moments. For which I am so grateful. And which fill my heart to the brim with delight.

This post is part of a link-up with ember grey!