Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Gratitude, Gratitude, Gratitude and one INSPIRATIONAL Prom Dress Story

Let's just say this month has been one for the record books, books I would love to burn, page, by page, by page. But then again, all I have to do is turn on the T.V. or load Facebook to realize no matter how frustrated I am, no matter how exhausting life seems to be, no matter how impatient I have been, there are far worse things to deal with in life....and I am beyond grateful not to have to be dealing with them. My platter is plenty, thank you. 


Two things of significance happened this morning, despite the chaos that surrounded them.




 1. As I lay in bed enjoying the view of my bedroom, which at this point I could probably draw with my eyes closed, I realized I am surrounded by love....much love, and though I hate having to spend as much time in bed, I am grateful that my place of rest is a beautiful one. Here are some pics of my bedside. My bible is closest, though I truthfully admit it is not used as often as it should be. The notes from my sweet hubs stand as reminders when he is gone, or laying next to me, of his quiet love, the love I cherish. My reading list, at the moment, creates a beautiful sculpture of line and color, which speaks to my artistic spirit and seems to give my intellectual side the umph it needs to reach out and read, which at times has been hard. And then there are my candles. They help calm my mood, my spirit, and my senses, which are ever so helpful these days. These may be tiny little things to most people, but in my every day existence, these are the things that make life worth living, and make it beautiful. 




2. After becoming royally peeved with insurance and Medicare and 'stuff' I turned on Facebook to find a link my friend Joy had posted about a single mom who just happened to write a blog about her struggles, which included a pic of this "TO DIE FOR" prom dress she desperately wanted for her daughter . Now, truth be told, it was the dress that actually got me hooked, I mean, hooked enough to click on the link and read the blog, but it was the story behind the dress that blew me away. I sat with chills and almost tears....of amazement, of guilt, and of the notion of a tiny little voice, deep inside my heart saying, "Flush, and get off the pity pot." It was then that I realized how, once again, I live such a blessed life, that God takes care of me in ways I don't deserve, and that despite all the horrid news reports and media coverage about how the world is so screwed up, there are wonderful, decent, loving people intermingled in all that mess. Here is Michelle Grimm's Blog, A Magical Moment, A Dream Dress, and I simply want to encourage my readers to stop long enough to read her story, you won't regret the 5 min....promise, promise, promise!

Michelle's Blog


Life is hard, life is beautiful, but life can be, at times, harder to bear than we believe it should be. I can only speak for myself, but I am choosing to embrace love not hate today, friendship not hardship, life rather than death, gratitude rather that complaints, and faith rather than doubt. For today, that is the best I can do.