Blessings

On my way home today, I was suddenly overwhelmed by how much God has blessed me this year.  And not just with the obvious things that I too often take for granted:

• my wonderful husband
• my supportive family
• our beautiful house and puppy
• two comfortable salaries
• and an awesome church.

He's also blessed me with so many little things this year too.  Something I've been praying for a long time (as have my parents, ha) is that God would grant me

• patience and humility.  

I really feel like He's been working in me a lot this year on those two fronts especially.  I feel much more likely to ask others about their day than to talk about my own and I am quicker to complement without thought of return.  I am getting better at receiving and reflecting upon criticism, something that has always been very difficult for me.  I also am amazed at my patience some days.  There is no way my behavior is naturally coming from me- it has to be coming from above... God is siphoning my anger in real time.  He's taking a turkey baster and sucking up the lava that used to boil up and pour out my ears, eyes and nose.  I marvel every day how good of a mood I am in after what a crazy class I just had!  I know I am one year older and wiser, but credit must go to God for this super power.  I with I could explain the sensation better, I don't feel I'm doing it justice.  Simply, God has blessed me with an abundance of humility and patience this year, and it is an answer to many years of prayer.

God has always and will continue to bless me with special people.  This is because he knows me better than I know myself and knows that I need "a someone"  In high school, I had an assortment of close friends, but Aaron, my current husband, was my "someone".  In college, it was my best friend, Julia, who was inserted into my life freshman year before orchestra auditions.  She was who I needed to keep me straight and she needed me in return, which, conveniently, was something I needed.  At my first school, it was Jonathan, an older, wiser musician.  He gave me Godly advice and encouragement when I was on the verge of quitting.  At my other school, it was Shelly, a part time teacher/coach who talked to me about her faith openly.  It made me feel so relieved and free to talk to someone about Jesus!  This year, my "someone" is Kristina, a lunch friend.  She is someone I can laugh and joke with.  We can talk about school, but we don't have to.  She introduced me to her friends, who are now my friends, and now I actually have friends.  I am especially grateful for this "someone" because at this point in my life, I very well could have gone on with out a "someone" at work.  As opposed to last year, my job is not overwhelming me and I would have been able to do it and go home and still had Aaron and my pooch.  But having friends makes me so much happier, and that is something God did not have to bless me with.  The fact that he cares about my happiness makes my heart overflow.

I just can't adequately express the abundance of ways I am blessed.  I could go on and on with all the little things, especially if I wanted to keep to a school theme (great facilities, talented coworkers, good students, etc...) but I won't, because I'm hungry, and I'd like to eat dinner.  But I will be thanking the Lord for more than my food tonight, and every other night for that matter.