Count Your Blessings, Name Them One by One . . .

I'm not sure how today will play out, but my morning offered me an unexpected blessing, actually - two.

When I woke up this morning the first thing that came to mind (and ear) was the wind and rain and having to take the girls to the bus stop in the mess. It was pouring and blowing to beat the band!

But, you know, God is good. By the time the girls got here it had stopped and the sun was peeking thru. But that wasn't the best part. The best, to me, was the way it looked outside. When we walked to the stop - the robins and doves were flitting about, the sun was out, and there was a warm, gentle breeze. But what affected me most was the way the wetness hung in the air. It was beautiful. It wasn't rain "cloudy". It was more like what you see when the sun hits the snow or cold ground. The "foggy" appearance that results between the marriage of the two - a warm mist - a grayness that belongs to spring alone - a calmness stretching out beyond the sunshine. And . . . . . the smell. A smell that only a spring rain can produce. An intoxicating aroma of things to come.

It's times like these that I wish my eyes were a camera - that I could project exactly what I see to print, to be able to visually share the beauty that I admire in my world. They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. The artist, the Creator, has painted a pallet so breathtaking that it can be interpreted in hundreds, no millions, of ways. Our whole world is an art gallery. It's "subjects" are designed to stimulate our very soul, if we just take the few minutes to admire the "Fruits of His Hands"!

We walk the same route every morning. I have learned not to expect the beauty that could be waiting for me on this trek, but to look for it. In odd places. At unexpected moments. I may overlook it at times, but when I least expect it, a fresh new portrait lays before me. One that may be there for just a fleeting moment, but there just the same. And it was for me. To enjoy. To share as best I can, in words, things that only God can create. And it humbles me -

That was the first blessing. The second:

was receiving an unexpected phone call from Alicia! She is such a blessing to me. She and her mom have endured trials that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. She is finally at a point in her life where she can truly smile again and it is beautiful! She is beautiful. And I love her more than I can describe. She is part of God's canvas! ! ! A wonderful work in progress.

Did Imention how much I love her?