So Grateful

Our oldest daughter and her family were at their cabin with friends.  It was bitterly cold and they had been using the gas fireplace to bring extra warmth into their living space.  Our granddaughter and family friend had often laid on the floor in front of the fire, staying toasty and warm.

Then suddenly......while they gathered to eat supper on New Year's Eve, the fireplace exploded.  Glass shattered and was strewn out into that same area where our granddaughter and her friend had been.  Glass that was so hot it melted and stuck to the carpet.  No one was hurt.  No one.

So grateful.   So very grateful.

Another daughter and her treasures were in a terrible car accident.  The car was totaled.  Our daughter and the grands walked out of the car alive.  The grands physically unhurt, and our daughter able to recover from home.

So grateful.  So very grateful.

I have been praying for the son of one of Bethel Church's leaders, Joel Taylor.  A nasty strain of ecoli has nearly taken their son Jaxon's life and they continue to believe for his kidneys to function, his lungs to heal, and the organs to restore fully.  The other morning as a small worship team came to the hospital and prayed praise music over Jaxon as a declaration of healing, they saw a shift in his medical status.  He started to slowly and steadily improve.  He continues to need more healing, but the journey has begun.

So grateful.  So very very grateful.

Our whole family gathered together on December 28th.  This does not happen very often at all.  It was only for a couple of hours that our five, the in-loves, and ten grands were in our home at the same time, but our hearts were so full as we observed, participated, and embraced family and all that means.

So very grateful.

I was sitting in yet another doctor's office, this time in West Des Moines Iowa.  I was having a battery of tests to see why my vision had become wavy.  It was obvious it was connected to macular degeneration but where were the blood vessels leaking?  I had so many numbing drops I lost count.  I had dialating drops, iodine drops and a florescine dye IV.  before being given a shot of novicaine and then a shot of Lucentes in my eye.  In the past I would have been reacting with some pretty scary symptoms.  I did have a couple "minor" things arise but my body has recovered and healed enough in the past few years that I tolerated all the chemicals being poured into my body.  Thank you Jesus.

So grateful.

It was while I sat in that office that I realized my mantra of late has been the words...........so grateful.  So grateful for the many blessings, the gift of family and friends, and even the doctors who are at this time playing a part in my journey.  When I looked in my Christmas stocking this year I found a small magnet for the fridge that speaks of having a grateful heart.  It resonated.

So, I have taken my "count your daily blessings" journal off the shelf and am making 2018 a year to put in writing the "so grateful" things.  There are so many.   Like the doctor who suggested a medication to me and then told me to go home and pray, and ask Holy Spirit about it.....(I had never mentioned Holy to her, but evidently He whispered into her ear.........  Or my dear friend Katherine who lives so far away but knows my heart.  God brought us together for such a time as this.  Or the amazing story that can be told with how we bought our latest car.  Or the blessing of having a warm house on a cold day.  God is in the midst of it all.

Recently someone told me they are having a difficult time being thankful.  I told them, I understood.  I got it.  But at times we need to be grateful and praise God before we SEE things change.  That is why it is called faith.  That is why it is sometimes called a "sacrifice of praise".  Because no matter how difficult our circumstances we can find the many "so grateful" moments if we take our eyes off of the problems and unto the solution.  Our Savior.

So very grateful.  It is a good way to begin 2018.