Counting graces

Counting more graces today and today is harder than some. My heart is heavy with grief for many of my friends who are suffering. My eyes are swollen and dry from crying. But as I gripped the steering wheel on the way home I sang through the sobs "The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning It's time to sing Your song again Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me Let me be singing when the evening comes."
He is Lord and He is on the throne and counting graces is what tunes my heart to praise and so I will keep counting. 

Today I am thankful for:
1. a fridge full of food that I didn't even have to shop for.
2. a book to challenge my thinking: God's Design for Women, by Sharon James. 
3. A story about what it means to be brave.
A little girl sat in the exam room at the doctor's office her feet dangling of the edge of the table. There was one thought on her mind: Shots! Just the word made her start to quiver. She didn't want to know if she needed any, and yet she did want to know. Her knees felt weak and she began to shake as she asked the nurse in a voice that would waver despite her efforts otherwise, "Do I need a shot?" The nurse hesistated, and asked her, "Do you really want to know now?" The little girl's heart began to beat faster as the tears began to flow. "Yes, I do," she sobbed. The fear and panic began to build and the little girl felt ill from the anxiety. When the end of the visit came and the shot was over and she was calm once again, the nurse looked at the little girl as she brushed her bangs back from her face and she said, "Do you know how brave you are?" The little girl looked up at her confused. She knew that all the tears were not the sign of bravery. The nurse continued to smooth back her hair as she explained "Being brave does not mean that you are not scared or that you don't cry. Being brave means recognizing that you are afraid and being strong enough to act anyways. Bravery is not the absence of fear but the act of facing fear." The little girl sniffed and wiped away a tear from her cheek as she smiled tentatively at the nurse and tucked those truths in her little girl heart where they can grow.

4. Chinese take-out to easy a hurting heart--because in my family that is what we do--we share a meal, a treat, a snack together as we live, and pray and weep and work together. 

5. A friend who offers a listening ear and whose ready laughter helps me to not take myself too seriously. 

6. a cup of tea with momma

7. A hug from my daddy. 

8. a car loaned to me by my brother. 

9. hugs from co-workers

10. "Good-night, Megaroo!" From a friend

11. my roommate making my favorite dish

12. a hug from my sister

13. the prayers of my friends.