Stop and Smell The Roses

I took a small walk down memory lane today. It amazes me how small, little things can bring back such fresh memories. Yesterday we started putting up our Christmas tree. Today we finished by putting the lights and ornaments on the tree. My little walk started when I opened the ornament boxes. My family has this weird tradition of saving things that to any other person would appear to be trash, but to us-is small treasures. It is a running joke in my family that when you have something that you don't know what to do with, but you don't want to throw it away you-put it on your Christmas tree! We say it jokingly, but we all know we really mean it!

Now, I'll admit, a lot of this stuff doesn't actually make it on the tree, but there it is waiting in the ornament box! There was the ticket stub from Wesley and I's first "official date". There's the ring box that my engagement ring came in, the small card from when he sent me flowers for Valentines Day only to have them arrive three days later, but moments after my Gramma passed away (it was no coincidence, that was divine intervention :-) There is the whistle from Wesley's life guarding days, his ID card from when he took his Bar Exam. There are petals from his Grandma's casket when she died and then from a much happier event-my wedding bouquet. There are a few little cards my Gramma had written me on the outside of our presents through the years. One said, "Happy 1/2 birthday Randol!" from when she sent me a package in the mail when Randol was only 6 months old. There are the Elvis glasses that my Uncle Tommy loved. There is another little card from my sister Katie that she had sneaked into my suitcase when I went on my honeymoon. A favorite of Randol's is the note the tooth fairy left me for my first tooth-then there is the note she left Randol. Today Randol looked at them both and said, "I think she got a lot older because her writing is harder to read on my card than on yours!" I just laughed!

All of these things appear to be trash, old notes and photographs to anyone else walking by, but to me...they are little treasures of my heart that I look forward to seeing again year after year. As many times as I have opened that box, I'm amazed at the joy it brings me as though I'm receiving them for the first time.

This morning I read in Exodus about the Passover. The Jews were to put the lambs blood on their doorways so the angel of death would pass over their house. As many of you know, there is a long ritual that Jews still celebrate today. God said they were to do this every year to remind them of what He did. It reminds them of God's blessings and His mercy.

As I looked at all my silly treasures, they reminded me of God's blessings. Every word, every card or photograph reminds me of a happy time in my life. A time where God blessed me with love and comfort and mercy. As hard as it was to read my Gramma's handwriting on one card that said, "I love you super dooper much!xoxo" and the one she gave to Randol signed "Patches and Lucky" (my aunts cats), I was reminded of her love, of the way she always made me laugh and look to the brighter things in life. I was reminded that even though almost three years have passed since I heard her sweet voice, she is still here, right beside me. That I am thankful for.

In Saturday's paper, there was a black and white comic that said,
"We give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way".
I can't get it out of my mind. I have no idea what blessings await my future. It is so hard to see past this day and this moment sometimes. We get so wrapped up in the day to day things that we miss His blessings and His purposes in between all that other stuff. Last week Wesley and I watched The Pursuit of Happyness. That man was as low as one can get. He had to sleep in a public bathroom-in a subway station-in NY City! He had no idea in that moment, that 26 years later he would become a multi millionaire. Talk about moving up the food chain!

This week as I look around me and plan out my day, I will try and remember to thank Him for the things I don't even know He is going to do; things He may already be doing, but I will not see for many years down the road. How blessed we are to be loved so much by One whom we aren't even worthy enough to kiss His sandals. I know that in the midst of my life will come heartache, but blessings can still come in those times as well. Looking back over my life, I have been through some rough stuff. I don't regret any of it because it was in the midst of the storm that I was able to praise Him and feel His Almighty presence.

As you start your day today, look around you and be thankful for all the things He has blessed you with. Then stop and thank Him for all the things He is doing right now, for such a time as this, things you cannot see, but are still there. It is having a truly thankful heart that will keep us grounded in what really matters this Christmas season.