Counting My Blessings
A Gratitude Journal
“God, I’m still counting my blessings / All that You’ve done in my life
The more that I look in the details / The more of Your goodness I find.”
~ Seph Schlueter, “Counting My Blessings”
Alright, folks.
We’ve talked about battling hopelessness. And recovering from heartbreak. That’s enough angst for one month.
God has filled my life with so much joy this past week that I wanted to publicly thank him for all of the love he has shown me.
My circumstances have not changed, but even when life is hard, God is still patient, gentle, and kind (1 Cor. 13:4-13). He is the giver of every good gift (Jam. 1:17), and He delights in lavishing us with His love (1 John 3:1).
Oh, How He Loves
In the aftermath of a recent disappointment, I feared that Valentine’s Day would find me overshadowed by bitterness.
And I’ll be honest: I was very sad at the beginning of the week. I went to work with a heavy heart, struggling to make sense of things, grieving the loss of a dream, and sorting through a myriad of complicated emotions.
But God met me in my sorrow, blessing me through the love and kindness of my family, friends, and coworkers, who reminded me that there is so much more to life than the empty dream I’ve been holding onto.
On Shrove Tuesday (a.k.a. Pancake Day!), I was blessed by a sweet friend who invited me over for brunch. Her delicious cooking, warm hospitality, and heart-to-heart conversation were a much-needed pick-me-up for my weary soul.
My spirits were also lifted by the Galentine’s night my girlfriends and I planned in celebration of Valentine’s Day. We enjoyed homemade pizzas, chocolate-covered strawberries, and the recent film adaptation of Francine River’s Redeeming Love.
(I may or may not have paused the movie *at least* three times to say, “Guys! GUYS! In the book, they . . .”
But that’s what happens when you watch a movie with a bookworm.
Thankfully, my friends still love me.)
As I reflect upon this past week, I’m thankful not only for the pre-planned blessings, like brunch and girls’ night, but also for the spontaneous ones, like the lunch date I had with two of my coworkers last Thursday.
Since writing is not a lucrative career, I’ve continued to work the part-time job I started during grad school to pay the bills until I establish myself full-time as a writer and editor.
Though I often dream about making it big in the Christian publishing industry, I appreciate this precious season of my life, knowing that God is faithful in tending to the seeds He has planted (Phil. 1:6; 1 Cor. 3:6).
I’ve had the privilege of working with the same coworkers for over a year now, and they’ve seen me through several emotional rollercoasters in the last fifteen months.
When you spend twenty-plus hours a week with the same colleagues, you can’t help but bond with them. A few in particular have become good friends to me, and we’ve hung out on more than one occasion outside of work.
This week, one of my work friends convinced me to go to a late-night jazz show at a local bar.
If you know anything about my conservative Christian background, you’d probably be shocked by the thought of me in a bar on a Thursday night.
Yes, it was wildly outside of my usual rhythm. I had to pre-game with a nap and bowl of yogurt to gear myself up for the night.
But it was also one of the most wholesomely fun things I’ve done in a while.
For two hours, I listened to live jazz and sipped a glass of kombucha as my friend and I chatted about movies, music, and work. And then, since my friend loves food, we popped into the burger joint next door for a little midnight snack.
It was an unconventional but carefree night for me, filled with music, friendship, and laughter.
Sometimes you just gotta let your hair down and do something a little crazy, you know? (As long as we’re home by 12:30 a.m., of course . . . I’m still that grandma friend, after all).
Last but not least, on Friday afternoon my mum and I took a wintery walk through a local provincial park.
Walking has always been a special bonding activity for me and my mother. It gives us a chance to pour out our hearts to one another while simultaneously getting our blood pumping.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:4-5 NIV)
Rejoice in All Circumstances
There are many things I wish I could change about my circumstances. Life is far from what I envisioned it would be at twenty-six.
Nevertheless, I know I am richly blessed. Despite all the troubles I’ve had, they have not once outnumbered my blessings.
Above all, I am thankful for the people who fill my life with beauty, joy, and laughter. There are so many other highlights I could have included in this blog: the afternoon I spent on my friend's bed, talking for hours on end; the Valentine’s Day treat bags my coworkers and I made (gosh, they know how to make the craziest workdays more fun…) and the post-church brunch my friends and I whipped up at our pastors’ house on Sunday afternoon.
Come what may, I know that God is always with me and that He will continue to bless me with joy in the sorrow, beauty in the brokenness, and healing in the pain.
May your week be filled with beauty and joy, my friends.
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Oh my goodness I *love* the sound of your Galentine's night, how lovely! May I ask how/where you watched Redeeming Love? I enjoyed the book but didn't realise the movie was available to watch! And I like the idea of the jazz night in theory but, similarly to you, would have needed a good nap and psych-up to be out past 9pm ahaha.