It's Friday

It is Friday morning and all is well with my soul. The Lord blessed me with sleep. For the last while, I have been sleeping longer than usual - sometimes eight hours! For me this is not the norm and I wake up astounded and grateful. I am also sleeping through the night without waking up so many times with hurting joints. An answered prayer. I have been fever free for 24 hours now and the sore throat is about 60% better than yesterday morning. I haven’t been waking with sinus headaches as usual either.

I write this from the sanctuary of my bedroom where my faithful and loyal companions, Nikos and Pan Dulce lie sleeping on my comfortable bed. I am sitting in my office chair that allows me to rock when I want to, and I do often as I sit thinking and pondering. It soothes me. Pictures of my children and grandchildren hang on the wall across from my bed so I can see them as I pray for them. They make me smile and feel all warm inside.

This little room is full of reminders of the life God lead me through. Walking sticks from Africa and a rain stick from Costa Rica lean in a corner representing some of where I traveled in His name. Maps on the wall represent places I hope to travel to in His service. There are examples of simple day to day life blessings in here, too. I am drinking a cup of hot coffee I made earlier in the coffeemaker I keep in here to help ease me into mornings. A basket of clean clothes to cover me, a bookshelf of books to entertain and educate me, a fan to cool me and comforters to warm me. All of this and I haven’t even left the room!  

I’m sharing all this with you because it is Friday, the day I think about all God has done in my life this week. I often encourage you to do so, too. This is not saying all is perfect and rosy in my world, far from it - but it is choosing to count the blessings rather than focusing on all that “isn’t”. I was speaking to one of my brothers yesterday and we were catching up, sharing things in our world. He is currently unemployed, as am I, and yet the bulk of our time was spent talking about the good things going on. In our discussion of job hunting, in which neither of us is having any luck, he jokingly said, “It looks like we will be eating beans and rice a little longer.” I told him it was a good thing we liked beans and rice! We laughed. It is all about choice, People, it is all about how you choose to view the things the Lord carried you through. You can focus on how bad the storm or how strong the hands that hold you. I encourage you to take a few moments today just sitting in one place and consider all the blessings that surrounds you. It’s easy, try it, you’ll like it!