Don’t think of the things you didn’t get after praying. Think of the countless blessings God gave you without asking.

Anonymous

Some of you know that my husband had his second hip replaced in October. The first one was done in July. The summer and fall have been filled with surgeries, physical therapy, and managing the home and schedules. This time around has been harder for my husband physically and it is taking longer to heal than we thought it would. All of November, I was concerned with what I was going to share here on the blog concerning the ‘grace goal’ for that month. I had several ideas to write about, but not the brain space to sit and really write. Now that December is here and the end of my Grace Goals theme I have had, I look back at the last year and see a thread of grace. While life was busy and I was trying to stay on top of our new normal, the thing that occurs to me as I look back on this year’s blog entries is that I was and still am counting the stray gifts. The stray gifts in a day have taken me by surprise, have added joy to the day, and have reminded me that God is still present when life gets crazy. Stray gifts come in all sizes and shapes from time alone to a handwritten note sent from a friend to flowers blooming in the yard or around town that I see. Big and small, I welcome them all. When the days were long and we were all tired, I still found reminders of God’s hand in our lives.

I pray for healing for my husband, for wisdom for our son who will soon be a college senior, for my dad’s health, for our ministry over in Mexico which has been operating without us since June- for many things. These are always on my mind and I can get preoccupied while waiting for answers on other requests. The countless blessings I have received without asking are the stray gifts in the day, the gentle reminders that He cares about adding beauty in the skies, songs through birds outside my kitchen window, kindness through strangers, thoughtfulness of friends, sweet scents through flowers blooming, a lost item now found, and many more. And I want to keep counting.

I would like to encourage you that when you may be sitting in a doctor’s office with a loved one, keep counting. While you wait for healing for yourself, keep looking. While you listen for God’s direction for the next step, keep watching. The stray gifts are there ready to be noticed by those who want to see.

Pleasure is spread through the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.

William Wordsworth, 1806