I have a list of "God's gift to me" that I started after reading "One Thousand Gifts..." by Ann Voskamp. The list was made up of simple memories; how the air smelled one night, a kid smiling and laughing, going somewhere or doing something unexpected... I can't remember everything on the list but whenever I read through it, I always cry. They truly are gifts.
(My list is just a simple line, hundreds of simple, little lines. When I read those lines it will remind me of what was going on at the time, like: having an extra lollipop. When I read that line I am reminded of a time when someone gave my three older kids each a lollipop and the youngest was so sad that he didn't get one. I rummaged through my bag and found one lone lollipop sitting on the bottom. He was so happy. The look on his face was priceless and it was a beautiful gift for me, too.)
I went to grab my phone to add to my list this morning when I realized that this is a new phone. I got the new phone because my last phone died a horrible, tragic death and took with it my list.
That list was 2+ years of my life. Simple, everyday things that I recorded that I would never remember otherwise. When I start thinking about and getting overwhelmed with life, I would read over the list and things was fall back into place. When I start thinking "I will never get my dream house" I remember that what ever space I live in with my family is my dream house. Same thing with dream vehicle, all I need is something that works and fits us all. Sometimes I forget that.
Keeping a list like "God's gifts to me" is very important to me and I will start a new one. I will try to add some of the things I remember from the original one and life will go on. I think this time I will stick with pen and paper.
