Blessings of the Week - vol. 22

-1-

A solid, deeply loving marriage. My ninth wedding anniversary was this week. And while we were apart, DH and I connected several times throughout the day... including my late afternoon phone call to thank him for the flowers he sent me. Princess watched me carefully tear the paper from the flower bouquet with her hands clasped together in joy. She watched as tears spilled from my eyes as I read the card. Then she said, "Daddy is good, isn't he, Mommy?" Oh, yes. He is good. "Promise me you'll marry a man just like your Daddy... someone who will send you flowers when he can't be with you on your anniversary, ok?" "Ok, Mommy. I will."

Oh yes, the flowers are nice. But the real blessing is that after nine years, our love is deeper, our friendship is stronger, and we are bound not only by this family we've created together, but by our faith in an ever-loving God.

-2-

Grammy's visit. After last weekend's retreat, my mom stayed for a few days to visit with me and the kids. We had a wonderful time together: apple picking, feeding stingrays at the zoo, going out for ice cream. It was excellent grandma time for the kids, and a chance for me to step back and let the kids soak her up for a few days. (Her visit also helped lessen the sting of yet another trip for Dad). We were all sad to see her leave on Wednesday, and the kids are already asking when she (and PopPop) will be coming back to visit again.

-3-

Inspired Spiritual Direction. Last Sunday, on the retreat, Father and I met for our monthly spiritual direction meeting. When we'd scheduled this appointment for the retreat weekend, I had expected we would spend most of the meeting processing through the retreat. We didn't. Instead, prompted by the Holy Spirit and a few random notes I'd made, we went off in a completely different direction... and I came away from that meeting with 3 real gems of inspiration that have been bumping around in my head all week.

I was reminded once again just how valuable spiritual direction is in my life. In the past 8 months, Father has taken me down paths I never would have traveled on my own. He challenges me, questions me, and encourages me. Thank God he does.

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Will you pause to thank the Lord for the many ways He's blessed you this week?