One Thousand!!!

Last December 9th I began to count gifts.  My goal...1000.  I had just finished reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskanp and I was not only mesmerized by the story, but how much it connected to my own.

So, I started counting.  A simple Moleskin journal and a pen.  Each day I began to look for the gifts that we often overlook.  The sun rising over the rooftops, the dew on the grass, the Pumpkin Spice Creamer in the fridge!  These were gifts that I took for granted.  Things that were just there.

As the year evolved and some issues arose, I started writing down hurts and emotions. It didn't seem right to fill my journal with sadness.  But, about that time I was reading the book a second time and  this time was zeroing in on the sadness that Ann wrote on her list.  Yes, I could list the hard things because the hard things are where we not only learn and grow, but where we see sometimes the worst and the best of ourselves.

So, I wrote and wrote.  Day after day. Some days  just one or two things. other days much more.  As I got closer to 900 and then 950, I wondered what the 1000th would be?  I remembered Ann writing about a flower that had opened. Not just any flower, but one that had been given to her by her mother in law who had recently passed away.  I wasn't going to be a copy cat, and really, I most likely would not have even thought that the 1000th gift should or would be anything special.  But the idea was there and I couldn't get passed it. Our 5th grandchild is due any day.  I was hoping this would be the gift. But the day came and went and I wasn't going to not write and wait just because I wanted it to be super special.

And then.  Yesterday afternoon I had the grandchildren around the table.  Two were painting and one was coloring and the baby was crawling at our feet.  They were saying such sweet things, so I decided to video the conversation so the mothers could hear.

 

 

There it is.  My grandson painting me a special picture.  What could be more of a gift?  What could be more of a culmination of a year of listing?  God is good and you are loved.