I Am Truly Blessed

A wonderful Mother's Day is what I had. Wonderful is very good, but underlying it all was a tinge of sadness. I could never put my finger in the reason for this feeling. I just knew it was there.

My day started off with text messages from my kids, and a grandson, then continued with a great church service and visiting with friends. After getting home to let Licorice Kitty in, I joined my daughter's family for a nice lasagna and green salad meal followed up with a freshly baked rhubarb crisp. My son-in-law did all the clean up. That was followed by graduation party planning and senior picture ordering. I thoroughly enjoyed myself--especially the picture ordering.

Here is a question that came up. In pictures taken with a pet cow, do you choose the picture for the cow or the girl? I chuckled over that one. Thankfully, all the girl's poses were great. My decision was a full-face view of the cow instead of the profile view. Only in rural America!

We had most of the party planning done and were barely finished choosing all the pictures and our cups of apple-cinnamon tea when the phone rang. It was my son. "Mom, are you hungry yet?" he asked. I gave my usual replay of, "I'm working on it." In response he shot back, "We will pick you up in a few minutes."

Suddenly, I found myself perched in the front seat of their van surrounded by their family, and headed off for dinner at a local restaurant. Since servings are huge, we each shared a meal and still had two boxes of leftovers to take home with us,

As we ate, we shared funny stories as well as weekend happenings. I love hearing the grand-kids tales.

As for the sadness that hung around, I did a good job blocking out most memories of my own mom who died around 10 years ago. Why I did that, I don't know. She was a good mom. Her not being around might have been a source of my feelings. I thought of my husband and experienced some negative emotions--sort of a split second mini pity party as other husbands went to the front of the church to get flowers for their wives. Sadness and resentment were short lived, but they were there.

And the party planning? As much as I love helping my daughter with stuff like this, it makes me very sad to think that because of my husband's moments of weakness, he separated himself from things that brought him the most joy--his grand-kids. By the time he gets out of prison, there will be no more sporting events, school activities, or high school graduations to attend. Those will all be over.

I can't let myself dwell on thoughts like that. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. If I let my disappointments, sorrows, and negative thoughts from everyday living lead me down the path marked, "Poor me, why, if only" I most assuredly will lose the Joy of the Lord. Instead I celebrate and thank the Lord he has brought me this far, and there is still a road to continue down. With God, there are no dead ends.

I am so thankful for my wonderful family. I am truly blessed.