Blessings Through An Ice Storm

What a week we've had in Southeastern Michigan! Late Sunday afternoon/evening, we were hit pretty hard with one of the worst ice storms this county has seen in decades! Low temps mixed with snow, sleet and rain, made for quite a disaster. Nearly 55% of the county woke up Monday morning to no power in their homes. And even as I type this post, many are still without heat, lights and running water. The devastation around our small city was something I haven't seen in my lifetime. Trees snapped and lying in the road, power lines split in half, siding torn off houses and icicles hanging from anything that stood still!

I remember waking up on Monday in the very early morning hours to the sight of a transformer up the street that was caught on fire and hearing the crackling of ice-laden branches all around us. It was, by far, the craziest night of my life. And the coldest. Just when we thought that spring was just around the corner following a stretch of warm temps and dry weather, we were hit pretty hard with a storm that many of us were not prepared for. And we're getting word that another storm is preparing to hit again tonight. This is, after all, Michigan. We should be used to the temperament of our beloved state.

Our home was without power for 48 hours. Only a few short hours, really. In the scheme of things - it doesn't seem like very long at all. But it's amazing how reliant we've become on even some very small, seemingly insignificant luxuries. Like Internet, for instance. And cell phone reception. And then there's the blessings of daily living I'm guilty of overlooking - like flushing toilets, clean clothes, warm water, blankets, socks, television, radio, a four-wheel drive vehicle, a working sump pump. I've been given so much more than just simple things... I've been granted a sumptuous life of which I've neglected to see as anything but ordinary. And then there's this idea that I somehow am deserving of any of it.

Ironically, last week I began a gratitude journal. Inspired by this book, I made a commitment to finding MY list of 1,000 things I am grateful for. You read that right... one thousand. And I'm on my way. I've included things like watching Chloe sleeping in the early morning hours, feeling Trevor's touch on my skin, hot water from the shower in the morning, the way onions and garlic hit a hot, sizzling, buttered pan. Simple things really... but magnificent things that can be so easily brushed aside if we aren't careful to pay close attention to them. Like the sun rise my husband woke me up to see last week. The colors were phenomenal! I've never seen anything like it. And it was worth getting up earlier than expected so that I could soak in the beauty. And there's so much more I'm missing... the birds chirping, the sound of our children laughing, the way sunlight hits the window just right and creates a rainbow of colors, the smell of a crackling bonfire in summer, the taste of warm cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. We are surrounded by beauty and blessings every day and we don't even realize it. At least I don't anyway. I've lived nearly forty years and failed to rejoice in the every day miracles happening all around me.

I desire for my life to be filled with gratitude. For everything God chooses to send my way. I believe it's there... where real joy is found. Ann Voskamp says in her book, One Thousand Gifts, "life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change." Oh how I want that! How I long to have enough peace within me, from Him, that I accept what I am given and ask for nothing to change. Ann continues with, "When I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me."

In keeping with a life filled with gratitude, I've made a list of the things I'm thankful for this week... in the midst of a devastating storm. I am thankful for:

1.) Friends who called or texted to make sure I was okay.

2.) Family who took us in from what could have been a very cold night at home.

3.) Chloe's health. Thankful that she had a fever the day before the storm so that we could take care of her properly and without having to infect another household.

4.) The four-wheel drive that was fixed in my truck just 2 weeks ago!

5.) The new tires on my truck.

6.) That Trevor is able to work in town and didn't have a long, exhausting drive on the slick roads.

7.) That our basement was spared from any water damage!

8.) For quick power restoration.

9.) That school was canceled, which allowed Chloe some time to recuperate and rest.

10.) That there appears to be no structural damage to our home despite a major tree that fell on one side of the house.

11.) That my dog is okay and was able to sustain the cold days of being home... primarily alone.

12.) That the food in our freezer stayed frozen and didn't have to be thrown out.

13.) That my parents never lost power.

14.) That we have not just one - but TWO working vehicles in our household.

15.) For a working washer and dryer.

16.) For the men and women who have been working around the clock to bring power back to thousands.

17.) For the mail carriers who risked their lives to deliver mail county-wide.

Thank you Jesus for the blessings You provided during the absence of basic luxuries. I pray that You use this storm as a reminder to me of all the things I have because of who You are. Don't let me take another minute for granted.

1 Thes 5:18... "Be cheerful {thankful} no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live."

I choose joy. I choose gratitude. I choose love. And I believe each of these things go hand in hand.

Finding JOY in the JOurneY,