Monday, May 18, 2009

Celebrating what's right....

Our family enjoyed a church retreat this weekend, filled with thought-provoking conversation, rocking music (as a founding member of the newly-formed praise band, I say this with a great deal of bias acknowledged!), and a sense of our church as "home" that has been eluding me of late. It was a gift, and I will treasure it as such.

On Friday evening of this retreat, we watched a short film entitled "Celebrate What's Right with the World." Narrated by a National Geographic photographer, the film depicts the patience, the sense of expectation, and the trust entailed in seeing a "great frame" where at first glance what comes is a "good frame." The images in the film are stunning, the words profound, and I find myself looking at my own life in a new lens. Let me offer just a few of my thoughts on what is right this morning!

*The chilly night resulted in both kids tumbling into our bed early this morning for warmth and togetherness. I'm grateful that I was (mainly) able to receive them in love and gratitude, and that I had this little treasure of small, sleeping bodies to put my life in perspective before heading off to work.

*I am visiting a new chiropractor who I love, and so of course I am grateful to return to this commitment of wellness. One of the bonuses about the office location? It sits just above a Subway restaurant, and each morning when I make my way into the office, I take a deep, strong pull of the air and celebrate the aroma of BREAD! YUM!

*My dad is in the hospital this morning for reasons as yet unknown. I'm grateful for cell phones that allow us to keep in communication, and for my sense that a simple prayer for him with each call is more powerful than anything else I could offer.

*Have I mentioned that I am the luckiest woman in the world? Matt and I are reading aloud "Coop," the latest by Mike Perry, Matt's favorite writer. This gift of evenings burrowed on the love seat under a comforter as we travel together to the wilds of Wisconsin is one I will cherish. We are so grateful for one another, and thus I am grateful for gratitude itself.

*And again, in the "luckiest woman in the world" category, I offer this picture of Lucas's Mother's Day gift to me. He created a Lego grand piano (complete with a lid that could rise and lower), a bench, and his mom--seated right there, jamming away. I love that he had the creativity and skill to do this, but just as much, I love that this is how he thinks of me. To be remembered and known as being at the piano is all I could want!

1 comment:

Sue said...

What a wonderful and spirit-lifting post ... and a good reminder for me to get my head out of the dark and pain of life's circumstances and remember all the GOOD that surrounds me. Why is it so easy to forget this? To overlook the blessings and beauty that are yearning for my attention, right under my nose?

You gave me a gift this morning, Jen -- thank you for that! And PLEASE keep me posted about your dad -- I do hope the mystery is solved and he'll be home again soon.