A List

Lest you think I am unable to see beyond the sad little thoughts running through my head, I share with you my abundance today.

• The weather has turned, I have a bike, and a kid seat... all our errands and shopping can be done on two wheels now and it is pure delight. I'm addicted.
• Asparagus this morning-- and every April I think of Barbara Kingsolver's chapter on this, my favorite vegetable, in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  I bought a whole lot of asparagus.
• Friends who have become dear enough that it is hard to leave them. But the gift of knowing them-- worth it!!
• The blessing of a good life here, which was unknown and scary to me just four years ago.
• Wonderful tickets taking us Stateside in June. An itinerary I could kiss, knowing I will be traveling alone with three kids.
• The promise of summer.
• My sweet girl and the growth I see in her-- turning a corner in areas we were struggling with for months (years? there has only been two...) Seeing her emerge sweeter and yet still her spirited, wonderful self. I'm starry-eyed all over again.
• Did I mention how sweet she is? Cute litle pigtail buns and her brother's soccer jersey only make it worse.
• I love when the Truth is richer than you can grasp- when you know you're not getting all of it- that you won't ever fully "get it" and arrive.
• Oh, and I'm so glad the Truth is not Republican or Democrat. But this is supposed to be a positive list, so anyway...
• Cherry petals that flutter to the ground, littering it with pale pink footprints and twinkling in the sunlight. And the joy that it brings to a two year old who belts at the top of her voice "MAMA! FLOWERS IN THE WIND!!!" as if it's the most marvelous thing that has happened since light first dawned on the earth.
• Friends who write thoughtful emails, who love my kids, who are my family, who call and and aren't put off by who I am (or can forgive it, or try and like me anyway), who make life here grand, who have made life in other places grand, who make me grateful for life and that it is to be lived, together.
• Lotus, our market lady, who always gives us something extra-- today, two fresh mangoes.
• Scout on the bike shouting, "Yeeee Haaaaw!!!"
• My boys and their full blown soccer uniforms in the morning, every morning, socks and all. Just for school.
• Skills taking showers now in the morning, like a man or something, because he doesn't like his hair sticking up after sleeping, and he likes to feel "fresh."
• That in moving, I am secure, and even unmoved. That I have a dwelling place and I know who holds my head no matter where it lay.

Whatever things I am struggling with, they are always infused and surrounded by the bounty of God's grace. It really is enough... it really is.