Grateful today for vacation memories that have washed over me…..thankful for the time away, an unbelievable luxury that many people don’t have. I thank you God, for these blessings.

Close-up view of God’s creation at Monterey Bay Aquarium#272,273
Seeing the wonder of the ocean through 11 yr old joy, Elaine’s Grandnephew Josh#274
One of Carmel’s many secret alleyways #275
Elaine, Bobby, and Josh at Hog’s Breath Inn and Restaurant, formerly owned by Clint Eastwood… many happy memories here#276

#277 The first glimpse of the ocean, may it never get old……#278 Sounds of ocean swells gulls crying overhead…..#279 Grateful to find that some places have remained the same…..#280 Finishing all the laundry….#281 Happy voices on the other end of the telephone, knowing we are home safe…..

Keeping the gratitude alive, along with Ann and many others….

Regretfully away from the computer today, but keeping track of the gratitude and blessings in my heart, see you tomorrow!
Join Ann along with the rest of the gratitude community here to continue counting our blessings…..

I have never had any sense of smell. When I was very small, I found it curious when someone described smells. I thought maybe I wasn’t concentrating hard enough, maybe smells were so subtle that you had to really be paying attention. I would hold things up to my nose, inhale…..nothing. Every now and then I will still try, with the same result. Finally my Dad told me that my Grandfather, his father, never had a sense of smell either.

Maybe that is why I am so in tuned to sounds. They have always been a big part of my life, my memory bank. Thomas Merton describes some sounds he remembers too in his journals.

Noise of the cook chopping or pounding things in the kitchen at Douglastown. Noise of tires singing past the house on the road outside, in winter or in autumn when the road is light and bare and hard. Noise of a fire, cracking and snapping in the grate, just lit. The sheaves of sparks that rush up the chimney from time to time. From “Run to the Mountain”, the journals of Thomas Merton

They were part of his memory bank, a well that he drew upon from time to time, I suspect, as we all do. So now I will add some of my own, starting with yesterday morning. All these adding to the multitude of blessings I continue to chalk up.

#221 The gentle pit-pat of rain on the roof, sporadically increasing to a roar from time to time….making cats very nervous so that they run for comfort.

#222 Soft piano, coming from the radio….music, always music.

#223 Birdsong that breaks through, ushering in the morning and bringing in the dusk of evening….day done, rest from labor, no more regrets of the day.

#224 Song lyrics that bring joy and comfort to the hearer. Makes you feel you are not so alone, that others feel these feelings too.

#225 Loved ones or strangers lifting their sweet voices in song, to me there is no more beautiful sound than the human voice singing, laughing, it lifts hearts, makes you want to laugh even though you have no idea what is funny. There is something universal about it and it brings people together.

#226 Thankful for the memory that brings certain voices back even though they may be long gone….what once brought sadness and grief can now with time passing bring a smile.

#227 Two simultaneous purrs from very contented cats, one sounding very much like a pigeon or dove, and the other louder and deeper in tone, sounding more like a small muffled motor. Hence his name, “Briggs” for Briggs and Stratton motor company.

#228 The squeak of the floor by the door when you hit it just right; that means coming home after a long day, or just coming home from something else, but it is always a sound of welcome.

#229 The squeak and bang of my parent’s old screen door. This happens about 50 times a day at their house.

#230 Always, always the wind in the trees. Some sounds are more noticeable for their absence. I miss this sound a lot, not many big trees where I live. When I go up north or back to California I drink it in like cool water.

I wonder about the sounds of Heaven…..I anticipate that nothing down here can even come close. Another thing to look forward to there, as well as getting a nose that works!
Still counting blessings because He is worthy of our counting!

I knew something was wrong. I could hear it in her voice, there was a sadness behind the words. When I talked about our trip she said, “We’ll see.” Other comments like that were said along with normal conversation. I wondered, but knew when the time was right it would come out.

She brought out a folder, ever the organized one. It was a place to put all the fears, keep them in one place, organize them, make sense of it all. She said, “We have to talk.” And I felt the fear then, as tears spilled over, the dam that had been held at bay, kept inside for 3 days let loose. For the first time, the mammogram really hurt, and there was a reason why. They saw something they didn’t like and left the room really fast.

Everything suspended as the gravity of the situation and what it might mean took hold. She said through tears, “I don’t even care about myself but why should you have to go through this?” A caretaker of others her whole life, still putting herself last.

Life can change overnight with one bad test result. Uncertainty rears it’s head suddenly and everything is colored with it. Ordinary things are treasured like never before. Life is suddenly more precious. The word “precious” means something it never meant before. I said it but I hadn’t understood the weight of it’s meaning. Now I do.

Now there are more tests to come. Already we are surrounded by a circle of prayers, dear loving arms to help hold us up.

Today I tucked this in her medical folder so it is the first thing she sees and not that other “stuff.”

Jesus our healer……Jehovah Rapha the God who Heals….Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you……Lo, I am with you always…I have loved you with an everlasting love.

I rejoice over you with singing……”Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Thy Spirit? My frame was not hidden from Thee When I was made in secret….Psalm 139:5,7,15

Our circumstances may change, but God never does. That is what I cling to today. That is what my best friend is clinging to as well. We will walk this road as the sisters in faith that we are. As we clasp hands and pray we will navigate this uncharted, uncertain place not knowing what lies ahead, but knowing Him. Not liking the circumstance, but rejoicing in the knowledge that we don’t walk alone. Today I am claiming healing for my best friend and for all others who read this, because really, we all need healing.

Promises from He who is faithful: #211 He will never leave us, #212 He will carry our burdens, #213 He will give us the strength of eagles, #214 He has inscribed our name on the palm of His nail pierced hand, #215 He rejoices over us with singing, #216 There is no place we can go that He will not find us #217 He has secured our salvation, #218 He sympathizes with our weaknesses, #219 He keeps our prayers in a golden bowl, His treasure #220 He is in control of everything, even when we feel out of control!

Still counting blessings because He is worthy of our counting!