Day 7 of 40 Days to Passover and Resurrection Weekend - Count Your Many Blessings

As I sit and write, one of my many blessings is cuddled up next to me.  An unexpected blessing.  She has long blonde hair, blue eyes like her Grandmother, and a smile that can melt any heart.   Another one of my blessings is sitting on the other end of the couch reading a book.  She recently cut her hair off, making her look much older than she is.  She has a tender heart, which she carries on her sleeve.  These lovely young ladies have brought more joy to my life than I could have ever imagined. 

There are days when life is tough.  We get bad news, we are exhausted, emotions run high and all we can think about his what we perceive as the negative.  In these moments it is hard to focus on our blessings, the positive things in life.

This past Friday we had scheduled my oldest daughter’s birthday sleepover.  Unfortunately her younger sister brought the stomach bug home from school so we were forced to reschedule her party.  Needless to say, endless tears and a broken heart were the immediate response.  After getting the girls home and settled in, I went up to Emma’s room and crawled up in bed next to her.  I asked her to help me find the positive in this situation.  It took a few minutes before she truly started processing things, but she eventually came around.  And as she started thinking about how her sister not only felt bad physically, but also for being the reason we had to reschedule the sleepover; how all of friends would be in contact with Maddie and likely get sick; how hard it would be for Momma to take care of a sick baby and do facials on a group of little girl; and that we didn’t cancel, just pushed it back a week, the tears began to fade, her smile began to return, and her weighed down shoulders began to lift. 

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. 
Proverbs 17:22

There are days when the negative seems to overshadow the positive.  We find ourselves in a pit of gloom and despair.  We are in a funk that we just can’t shake. 

A few years ago our family made Thankful Journals.  We each decorated our own journal and began writing three to five daily blessings we were thankful for.  The girls were young, so their journals included lots of mommy, daddy, sissy, playing, and doll entries.  This was a good reminder for us to reflect on our day and intentionally focus on the blessings the Lord has given.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

The biggest blessing in my life is doing laundry while I write.  He has stood by my side as my husband for nineteen years.  We have been through ups and downs, good seasons and bad.  He is a balance to my emotional rollercoaster life and helps me find the positive when I am only seeing the negative.  He keeps me grounded, focused and pushes me when I need it. 

Being positive is a choice.  We often times have to make our minds set aside the negative to focus on the positive.  Our choice.  Sitting is a pool of negative, throwing our own pity party is also a choice.   We decide we would rather spend our energy throwing the biggest party ever, rather than focus on the reasons we should cancel the party.

Choose to be...

 

Today, before you lay your head down to sleep, focus on the positive.  Count your many blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God has done.  Your smile will be brighter, your heart more full, and your dreams much sweeter.