GRATITUDE 07.25.10

GRATITUDE 07.25.10

I am a little late writing and posting this week’s gratitude blog. However, even though my blog is a bit behind, my heart is filled with gratitude for the many wonderful blessings I have in my life. I know—that sounds so trite, but it is genuinely how I feel.

I think I’m guilty—even though I try so very hard not to be—of taking things and people in my life for granted. Nothing is a given. People can exit our lives as easily as they come into them. “Things” can be gone in the blink of an eye. Sometimes I need that gentle reminder. Sometimes, I think I hurt those I love the most, either with my words or actions…things I have done or things I have failed to do. Sometimes it is genuinely humbling to realize take a moment to reflect on what matters most in life. I know that it is often only after taking a personal inventory like this that I am able to truly appreciate and express my gratitude in a very real way.

In the past week, I celebrated (and continue to celebrate) my birthday. It seems almost unfathomable that I am really 37 years old. Life flies by. Age really is just a number. Birthdays, generally, are just another day. Yet, I am grateful for the many people who sent me their well wishes for my birthday, those who took an extra moment to reach out with a text message, a facebook message or some other expression of love. I realized this week, as I have so many times, just how blessed I am. I am rich not because of the size of my bank account, but because of the people who have given me the privilege to experience such beautiful friendship.

I am grateful for the journey of the last six months of my life. As I write this today, this marks 6 months since I lost my job. This has been such a mixed blessing. I was telling Lee and Jane today a I really have to honestly say that over the last six months, I have not worried an incredible amount. I always knew that all things were going to work out according to plan. I said at the time I lost my job that the company I worked for may have closed a window, but God would open a door. And, wow! How many doors have been opened for? And how many will open in the next week as I begin a long-term assignment.

Here’s my confession: I’ve realized that life is fragile. Friendships are tender, and that the very best thing one can do is to express gratitude for the blessings we are given. I’m grateful for productivity I’ve experienced over the last week or so. I make a hell of a lot of mistakes in my life. I’m grateful for the lessons I am able to learn from these experiences. I’m grateful for that which is established in my life, and for that which is not, I work to give it as firm a foundation as possible. For all the worst and all the best in my life, I have been richly and truly blessed. Even the worst day in my life, I’m fully aware that there are people who would gladly trade places with me because there are circumstances in their lives that are be less than ideal.