Getting Antsy

It is getting hard to be patient with winter. I have been trying very hard to keep a positive outlook, but the reality is we don't feel good and we need spring.

My friend Rae expressed my own feelings better than I could. "Don't get me wrong", she says, "winter is beautiful in its own way, but my heart longs for spring." Oh, mine, too, Rae, mine too! "New beginnings, new adventures. Sunshine. Going on walks. Bike-rides. Flowers. Being outside. Spring uncovers beautiful things that have been forgotten in dreary weather and buried underneath snow. It's time for new life. Resurrected life."

Rae knows.

So, since it is hard to feel glad right now, since depression lurks around the corner on every cloudy day, and since friends and family have been fighting illnesses for months (we can't seem to go a week and a half all being healthy at the same time) and we have had enough, thank you very much... since it is easy to feel discouraged... then it is time to forcefully give thanks!

Stopping to remember the gifts we've been given, no matter how much work it takes, sure helps my perspective. So, here we go, adding to my list of joys and thank yous, the list of gifts that God has given me for no good reason other than that He can, and He loves me, and He wants to (I sure don't deserve this kind of love) ...

62. The sound of raindrops dancing gently on the roof outside my window as I fall asleep

63. The way hail bounces when it hits the ground

64. The sound of a baby's laugh - gurgling, cooing, baby-belly-laughs that make you join in and laugh yourself.

65. The sound of water rushing around the rocks in a little brook

66. Concerts where I can enjoy music and dance from many cultures

67. Errand running day

68. Going out to lunch by myself

69. Trying out a new restaurant

70. The sure promise of spring, no matter how long and cold winter has been, oh, yes!


Oh, yeah, it'll come. And like Rae, I just ask it to please... "come soon, okay?"

Spring, are you listening?