Gifts

Have you read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp?

It is wrecking my heart. In the best of ways.

And tonight after complaining about what felt like an eternally long day, I started naming the gifts instead, and God spoke to my heart.

- Em's delight in something as simple as rocks and dirt
- sun that warms
- wind that cools
- the sweet smell of a clean, slippery child fresh out of the tub
- extra time for allowing sweet E to try new things and explore
- cuddles in the rocking chair before bed
- songs from the lips of a babe
- Em asking to pray together after waking up in the night
- watching Em lay her head down on the table just like mine, only inches from my face, staring into my heart with a beautiful, sweet smile

Because "to name a thing is to manifest the meaning and value God gave it."

So tonight I choose to name the gifts instead of the grumbles. And my heart feels right again.

"God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy."