Window Blessings

There is something special about a window. . . . .  It can warm your body and soul with light from the brillant sunshine, or shield you from the cold and damp as you listen to the rhythm of the raindrops on a stormy day.  It can help you see another perspective - outside looking in, or inside looking out.  It can deepen your understanding of faith, hope, and love as it frames God's abundant blessings - from either perspective. 

Woody and I were blessed with this special gift from friends this week.  It is such a special remembrance of Sara and we love it.  I was also blessed by another friend with the gift of a great book. . . . it is called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  I am only reading a little at a time because I really want to absorb it.  I'll give you a "taste" from the jacket of the book.  "One Thousand Gifts beckons you to leave the parched ground of pride, fear, and white-knuckle control and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup.  As Ann Voskamp invites you into her own moments of grace, she gently teaches you how to biblically lament loss, turning pain into poetry. . . intentionally embrace a lifestyle of radical gratitude . . . and slow down and catch God in the moment." 

As I said, I've only read a few chapters so far, but it is good for my heart.  Here's another tidbit. . . "To name a thing is to manifest the meaning and value God gave it."  This is talking about NAMING our blessings. . . recognizing and naming the gifts God gives us.  Can you name one thousand gifts from God?  I'm finding that the more you name, the more you see. . . . . yes, good for the heart.

On this Mother's Day I am so thankful for my mother. . . I'm also thankful for my mother-in-law.  I'm thankful for a husband who loves me and expresses his love for me as his wife and as the mother of our children.  I'm incredibly blessed to have four amazing kids, and three incredible "kids-in-law".  With all these gifts, I can say that although the pain and sorrow of losing Sara is great, and often makes my heart heavy. . . the blessing of having her in our family for almost 23 years is a greater joy, that I would never trade.