I am exhausted — down to my bones exhausted. It’s snowing. In late April. I know it’s Chicagoland, but still… I just made the mistake of going online and reading all of the headlines of gloom and doom. And I know none of this is going to change, well except hopefully for the weather, anytime soon.
And yet I cannot help but feel absolutely, completely, and awe-inspringly blessed.
I have this family, both my little in-our-home family and our extended family. There’s love there at every turn. There is joy and loyalty and companionship and constancy.
And there’s laughter. These girls are loud, but most of it is laughter, so even at their most deafening, those moments are precious.
I have a home. It’s not palacious; it won’t win any decorating awards. But I love it. I feel safe here and at home here. I feel blessed to make a nest for my little ones here. It wraps us and houses us and contains us and inspires us.
And I have friends, both old and new. Some remind me of who and where I’ve been, and others remind me of who and where I want to be. They challenge me and inspire me and comfort me and make me realize I’m not the only one to experience this crazy world in these crazy ways. They make me feel comfortable being me.
And I have this weird non-job job here where I get to take my thoughts and hit send and they go to all the corners of the world where people who are like me make themselves known, and this whole world feels suddenly so much smaller. This process validates me and encourages me and inspires me and helps me realize that even though I might not venture out of my home as often as I would like, I can still make a difference and touch people and impact people and be touched and impacted right back.
It’s so easy to see the darkness around. I think sometimes it’s easier to see the dark. It can feel more real and more true and definitely more pressing.
But on the other side, if you look through it and focus your eyes on it, you can see that there is light and that this light can make even the most pressing darkness less oppressive. It can transform and inspire and comfort and release.
These blessings surround us.
Let’s bathe in them.