Troubles and Blessings

I didn't toss and turn last night, just laid there thinking about so much and the memories I had, the memories I wanted to make and moving on with life.  I finally slept, waking up when the sun had already risen and the day had begun so decided to go for a drive down to the beach.  The sky was overcast and I was very tired so I stayed in my car and looked at the water, the sand, the families having fun with their kids, making sand castles together and a few older youths who had braved the water.  The view is always the same and yet it's not.  A few rain drops fell on to my windscreen but they didn't do anything to get rid of the bug spattered remains on it.


I went and looked in a couple of interesting stores and I read a plaque that said,


"Write your troubles in the sand and
Your blessings in stone".


I thought of buying it but then thought that Karen and I could probably make something like that.  She is so creative and artistic.  I might have the ideas but she has the ability to turn it into something worthy of keeping.

Write your troubles in the sand.  


Last night I was thinking about my 'troubles' and grief and pain.  Sometimes I dwell on what could have been or even the times that aren't worth the trouble of remembering.  I need to write them in sand so that they can be washed away by the morning sunlight.  I went to visit a friend tonight, who, after an accident more than 12 months ago, is remarkably walking when they said she wouldn't be able to, is able to lift a cup of tea and feed herself, when just over 12 months ago, she could not.  She got through it all and is still trying to be positive about life.  As I drove home, I passed a friend's house and I know there are challenges in her family life.  I reflected about how so many of us go through life unaware of the pains, trials and challenges in other's lives.  It is true that you can not compare pain but we do.

Last night when I was lying in bed, I was thinking about a blog that a woman keeps after her husband was killed tragically in an accident almost a year ago.  She writes so well and all that she says, I can relate to yet, when I write my blog posts, sometimes I feel that I can't convey those thoughts as well as what she does.  As she expressed her pain, I wondered if I loved Dave enough.  I wanted to call Dan and have him reassure me like he said once before, "You loved David dearly".  I was thankful that someone put on my Facebook page, "Don't forget- moving forward isn't leaving Dave behind. You will always take him with you in your heart."  I don't need them to tell me that I loved Dave dearly, I know that I did but sometimes, I feel like I am still waiting for him to come home.  I still feel like he is just away on a longer trucking trip and it's been much too long and I'm tired of him being away.  I know that he won't be coming home, but every day, to get through the day, there's a part of me that is still thinking that this will all be over soon.  He is so much a part of my life.


Write your blessings in stone


I am constantly reminded of the blessings I have received and am still given.  I hope that those who 'bless' me in so many ways, realise how thankful I am for their love and support.  I hope I tell them enough.   Catching up with my friends today and others I have caught up with since I've been back in Australia has been special too.  We do need to make the most of each day we have, being thankful for the blessings and loving the ones who are in our life.  When it all comes down to it, the blessings in our lives are the people who touch our hearts, the ones who walk with us in the journey, who cry when we cry, who share their joy and their pain, whose lives we share together.  


So I'll say it again:  Thank you for being a blessing in my life.  Even by reading this, I know that you are thinking of me, praying for me and loving me.  You are a blessing to me, although I may not ever have met you and may not know that who it is reading this, thank you.  


The greatest of all these things is love.

I love Dave and he loved me.
I love my family and they love me.
I love my friends and they love me.
I am loved indeed!


And even more, I have a Heavenly Father, who is Love. Completely. His love is higher, wider, deeper, richer, more satisfying than we can ever imagine!