Day 38

I am grateful for knitting.

I only just learned how this Christmas season, so I'm not very good and have to look things up on youtube, but I managed to make my first scarf. I love the colors, and it's really soft. Jylle helped me get started and was a huge encourager when I'd run into a snag or didn't understand something.

It was only after looking into how to knit that I realized there is an entire subculture out there. There are knitting clubs, groups, conventions, chat sites, meetings, books, videos, magazines, catalogs, and some totally loyal, enthusiastic fans. My daughter-in-law has introduced me to a whole new world. I probably won't go beyond scarves and hats, but it's a pastime I feel good about, a limitless medium for creativity in texture and color.

Thank You, Lord, for needles and yarn.

Day 37

I am grateful for Sandy.

This is a darling woman. She is the sweetest peach, full of truth and grace, and a true encourager. I always feel loved and cared about after my time with her, and I miss her dearly.

They moved a few years ago, leaving a large hole in this area. Seeing her weekly at church and sometimes in between was always something I looked forward to and smiled on afterward. I am not alone in this. She is friend and confidant to many, and seeing her this weekend was a hefty boon.

Her friendship is a garden of love and joy to me, and I pray we will enjoy many more years. This wife, mother, nurse, cancer survivor, sister-friend, and role model is a marvelous grace in my life, and I am deeply thankful for all that she is to me.

Thank You, Lord, for my Sandy.

Day 36

I am grateful for sunshine.

This is a fairly recent development. The weather has never really affected my mood, which is rather influenced more by circumstances. My husband is the one who whoops and hollers, does a happy dance, and goes on a number of times about how beautiful it is whenever the sun is out. I have come to realize, however, that I find myself cheerier and more positive on a brilliant day, like everything will be all right.

I didn't take this picture and don't know who did (I just borrowed it from the 'Net), but I appreciate this flower facing the sun full-on, soaking up its warmth and needing its light for life. I enjoy the analogy of "sun" and "Son." I'm reminded of lyrics from "I Look to You" by Whitney Houston: I look to You, I look to You, and when melodies are gone, in You I hear a song. I look to You.

Thank You, Lord, for this blazing, radiant, sustaining star.

Day 35

I am grateful for Wayneen.

You met my little brother from yesterday's post. This is his wonderful wife.

A few years after his wife left him (long, sad story), he decided that he missed being married to his best friend, so he joined e-Harmony. He would call, and we'd talk about the different women he'd met, and I'd give him feedback. It didn't take him long to realize that she was the one.

One of the sweetest things he ever said was, "If you knew everything she's been through and how she chooses to love anyway, you'd be blown away." She's told me some of what those things were, and I am blown away. She gives all credit to the utter grace and presence of the Holy Spirit from the time she was a child. She doesn't hate--never has, never will. She has what a lot of us would consider good cause, but it's totally absent. There is a purity about her spirit that's both drawing and endearing.

We celebrate not only having Alan back full-on, but the best friend God brought into his life and who so blesses ours. With her kindness, patience, generosity, work ethic, thoughtfulness, and loving ways, she brings a joy and peace to our family that we drink in with deep gratitude.

Thank You, Lord, for this precious sister.

Day 34

I am grateful for Alan.

This is my little brother. We're a year and eleven days apart. We were okay with each other growing up, not really terribly close, but that changed in high school. He became one of my best friends, and I cried every day for a month after he left to join the Army.

He's a wonderful husband. He brings his lovely wife coffee in bed every morning and prays with her before he leaves for work. He's an incredible father. He worked graveyard while his kids were growing up so he could attend their athletic events. He is a hero to them to this day because of his devotion, provision, humor, strength, and love.

He's a loving brother to me, despite the playful digs he gets in. When we lost our mom, he took a week off to be available to us in the terrible aftermath, stationing himself at my dad's to do whatever we needed. Shortly after that, he started signing all his emails, "Anything for you."

When Brett got married in Texas last June, his granddaughter was the flower girl. He flew down to attend, and I was humbled at the time and expense he spared to do that. When someone loves on my kids, it's a really lovely thing, and I remember...

This guy is smart, funny, hard-working, charming, and loving. It's a wondrous thing to be related to someone so great and get to enjoy him as the sweet friend I've had for 50 years.

Thank You, Lord, for my little brother.

Day 33

I am grateful for Lydia.

When I was 12, my mom told me to start praying for a good husband, that he was out there somewhere, and God would bring us together. When I was about 16, I added and "good, healthy children" to that prayer. After we had kids, I started praying for the person they would one day marry, for their upbringing to be sound and godly and their hearts to be His.

When Brett brought Lydia home so we could all meet, we knew he intended to marry her. The fact that they'd only dated a matter of months and this was the first time we'd ever met her made no difference whatsoever to me--God had planted a titanic love for her in my heart.

We had a minute alone in the laundry room where I closed the door and faced her. Hugging her to me and with unsteady voice, I told her, "I'm so glad to be able to hold the first answer to our prayer for a godly spouse for our kids in my arms. I'm so grateful."

She is Brett's soulmate, and as corny as it is, they complete each other. He is solid ground for her, and she gives him wings. She adds joy, whimsy, flair, spunk, intelligence, order, tenderness, grace, sweetness, and love to our family. How's that for an answer to prayer?!

Thank You, Lord, for our Princess.

Day 32

I am grateful for my Brett.

This boy (ha, he's 25!) has so many endearing qualities. He has always been an old soul, quiet in speech, but deep and imaginative in the things that matter.

I've always said that children are our greatest joys and our deepest pains. When I took two months of maternity leave, I asked for one more month because I just could not stand the thought of having to leave him. It felt like my love for him filled every chamber of my heart, and without him it could not beat. He was my first experience in mother-love, and it changed me forever.

I could (and may someday) devote a whole blog to all the things I've learned from my kids. Some of the best things I've learned from or admired about Brett are loyalty, having no regrets, choosing the harder thing, generosity, letting stuff go, and genuineness.

Twenty-five years of loving this boy only gets better. He told me after he got engaged, "This must be so great for you, to see your kids grow up and go on to live their lives." It gave me a nudge in the direction of being grateful instead of inwardly focused on how far away he lives and how little we will see him. I saw that he was right. It is great to see my kids grow up and live full, purposeful lives. He also told me once that I was born to be a mom. It has been my highest privilege, and I give thanks for the one who was the first to grant me that title and role.

Thank You, Lord for my "Joey."