One of the "issues" my spiritual director and I work on frequently is my recognizing the blessings in my life. Like Jimmy Stewart in the movie It's a Wonderful Life, I tend to miss the blessings I have. I can also be blind to the impact my life has on others.
Today is my first day as an unemployed bum as I take this month to prepare for entering the Seminary. Last week was my last week of work at IBM. On Tuesday, the IBM Toastmasters group had an award and cake to celebrate. On Wednesday, my old group took me out to lunch. On Thursday my coffee buddies took me out to lunch, On Friday my current team took me out to lunch. Afterward, a friend gave me an unexpected card and gift that touched me deeply. (Common theme: food. Food is good!)
On Saturday, I was invited to a cookout and found many of my friends from my prison retreats work. They wrote me affirmation letters and had gifts. It was a wonderful relaxing afternoon.
These all made it into my Book of Blessings. I am blessed and people are seeing how I live my life and celebrating it. God is Good, All the Time.
It's funny that you mention It's A Wonderful Life. I've always liked that movie, but it wasn't until I really started feeling burdened by my occupation and station in life that I became a real fan of it. I love the movie, but I find that it almost hurts to watch it.
ReplyDeleteWow. Great blog! I'll be following your story and your are now on my prayer list.
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