GRATITUDE

Streams of brightness break through the layer of cold winter clouds, finding their way through the barren maple branches through the 30 panes of the kitchen window and land on my lap, where I am found absorbed in a book gifted for my birthday last week. the words I read are life giving and open my eyes to a new way of living fully in the LIGHT. Thanksgiving needs to be a lifelong theme, for each ordinary that comes my way.

Last week and the week before have been less, and yet so much more than ordinary as at times I have found myself hiding in dark shadows as sadness and stress overwhelm the little lights of the moments.

An early morning phone call changed early morning dreams to the reality of a crisis across the street at our daughters home where two little girls needed care while their parents rushed to the hospital. Hours of praying and waiting until news of a tiny baby girl born at 27 weeks gestation, too little, too soon, and yet so perfectly formed. Within a few hours mama and baby are flown to Vancouver to be cared for by the best neonatal team in our country.

And so life takes on a new normal, or is it normal? living between two homes, waking early to get a kindergartener ready for school and a two year old ready to spend the day with a gramma who is finding her way in a journey which spans time and distance from the dear ones these little ones miss so much. 

So in the midst of new routines, praying without ceasing, laundry at two homes, a nasty head cold, comforting little girls in the dark of night, trying to appease fussy palates, I find comfort in thanksgiving, and as I thank God for the little things I begin to experience joy. 

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world."

Sarah Bar Breathnach