when joy blooms

{via}

i am.

discontent. angry. unhappy. jealous.

i sit there and frown at myself (if that's possible), thinking of all the things i wish were different.

and then...

wake up call. suddenly! as i write my blessings, "gifts," like bright packages with big bows, the light switch is flipped...

look at you. you have gifts literally surrounding you and you sit there, thinking of everything wrong.

but in reality, the good outweighs the bad.

will you just wake up and see for one minute all the good around you?

so i count. not what i want. what i have. and it suceeds what i want. it outweighs the ungratefulness, the covetousness, the jealousies, the unhappiness. (who wants to look at that anyway?)

joy blooms. contentment blossoms.

because of a list.

it starts with one and then grows. yes, grows into something much larger. one "gift" just doesn't seem to satisfy the pen. or the soul for that matter. it has to keep on writing, keep on expressing. because when you count one gift, you must count them all.

1. fireflies

2. pillow fights

3. my church family

4. card games

5. scent of muscadines

6. crickets sounding their music

7. waves lapping against the shore

8. unexpected kindness

does it ever end? will this present happiness ever cease?

no.

because as long as there are stars in the sky, there will be happiness. as long as there arelittle children singing, there will be happiness. as long as God gives grace. as long as there is a searching... studying, for the next gift, it will be there.

the list continues...

what's on your list?

{via}

{note: this article is currently published here}