8.29.2012

thoughts on gratitude, blessings and prayer

So DH and I are moving.  EXCITING!  I think I've finally gotten over my fear of "missing something" in the process, and have accepted this as the blessing that it is.

During two of the most nerve-wracking days of my life, as I waited to hear if we had been approved, and I worried about where the deposit money would come from and so on, I decided to make a list of all the blessings I've received and experienced.  In fact, I looked back through my posts to remind myself of lots of them.  You can too.  I'll wait.

Ok, so it wasn't quite like this, but I pulled out a pad of paper and joted them down and reflected on them.  I beleive gratitude is one of the best forms of prayer.  I also jotted down a few personal notes on gratitude at the bottom.  and you know what?  As soon as I finished my list and notes, the phone rang.  We had been approved.

Ok, so it wasn't quite that instantaneous, but probably within an hour.  And it certainly felt connected.

The first thing I did?  Went straight to the cabinet under the sink I'd been thinking about decluttering for awhile, and pulled it all out and sorted it.  About 1/2 still went back, but that's twice as good as before.  While going on to declutter a few other areas (we had no boxes yet to start packing), I made up a box of jewelry for Alice and I found a stuffed animal that reminded me of my friend.

Boxing up the jewels for Alice reminded me of my own aunt.  Frequently when we went down to visit, and I was a young girl, my aunt would take me up to her master bathroom, and we'd pour through her collected jewelry as she sifted out things I could have.  These included funky, geometric, blue and pink '80s earring, parrot earrings, and sassy bangles and necklaces.  They always felt like precious jewels, and I felt honored and wore them with pride saying, "Oh this? My aunt gave it to me."

Looking back, I'm sure she's doing much the same thing I am; culling though her collection, and sharing what she no longer cared for.  And now I'm doing the same thing with Alice.  I wonder if she'll say the same thing to her friends.

As for the caribou dressed up like a duck?  It reminded me strongly of my friend, so I brought it to her.  Turns out, she had asked me to buy it for her years ago when I worked at the coffee shop, but I never gave it to her.  Now it sits in a place of honor on her desk.  The world works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?