Yesterday was a really hard day for my family as we took Keith to the airport and said goodbye to him. He’ll be serving as the Deputy Chaplain for the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea for the next year.
We prepared for this day for months, but nothing can really prepare you to say goodbye to the person you love the most for the next year.
Our kids were troopers after having to wake up and get in the car at 3:30 in the morning! My heart breaks for them the most.
It was a hard and tearful goodbye at 6 am yesterday morning. We talked to the car as Keith got in line to go through security before boarding his flight.
I had a busy day planned for the kids and I. I didn’t want to just come back home and be miserable all day. After breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we did come home to rest for most of the morning. Then after lunch we headed out to watch Finding Dory. We enjoyed that so much!! We walked around the shopping area that the movie theater was in and then had dinner at Chick-fil-a before returning home last night completely exhausted.
Before going to bed last night, I sat down with my journal to begin this practice of counting my blessings, naming them and writing them out, once again.
In the stress and busyness of life I haven’t practiced intentional gratitude over the last couple of months, but I know that this practice is going to be invaluable to me over the next year.
It is important that I’m intentionally grateful even during this hard time. It’s important that I count even the hard times as a blessing.
I am planning to get back to a regular posting schedule, and sharing the blessings I’ve counted with you every Thursday is a part of that schedule.
Here are the blessings I’m counting today…
481. quiet mornings to myself while the kids are in VBS
482. last days spent with our friends
483. visiting family in SC
484. phone conversations with my sister
485. cousins laughing together
486. Snow Balls and visiting Sydney at work
487. being in my grandmama’s house
488. hugging Daddy
489. EA picking an overflowing bowl full of blueberries with Papa
490. leaving on time
491. blueberry biscuits for breakfast…yum!
492. pulling into our driveway…finally home
493. meeting new neighbors
494. reconnecting with old friends
495. getting new bikes for EA & MC
496. finishing craft projects
497. planting flowers
498. a day at the zoo
499. a yard full of boys playing with Will
500. movie night with Keith
501. finding a Sunday School class
502. Jenny & Keith’s visit to the fire station
503. a day together in downtown KC
504. riding the street car
505. God and Country service at church honoring service members and first responders
506. Pastor Chad giving Will $10 for taking notes in church
507. celebrating Independence Day with friends
508. our last day together
509. saying a hard goodbye…tears and broken hearts
510. knowing that so many friends are praying for us
511. rain showers and thunderstorms on a sad morning
512. reading to Jenny before bed
513. being able to communicate thanks to technology
Whatever is going on in your life, I encourage you to pause for a moment and remember that you have much to be grateful for.
What blessings are you counting today?
Gilllian Dunne says
Hello Monica, so many blessings to you and the family at this most challenging time. Particularly I pray God’s protection on Keith while he is in Korea.
Thank you for reminding me of the practice of counting blessings; keeping a gratitude journal is something I’ve wanted to start for a while, but not got around to. Always an excuse huh?
By chance, I’ve just returned from my prayer group this morning. Each Friday, a few of us women gather to pray, share, drink coffee and generally just love being with each other. Today was a hard one for us as one of our sisters prepares to return to South Africa. I’ve not known her for long but she and her family have brought Jesus into my life in such a profound way; I will miss her.
God bless, Monica.
Gillian x