Blessings are abound

Blessings continue. This time it’s a flurry from none other than Devyl Girl, who’s guest post couldn’t have come at a better time. I hope you enjoy as she shares some very personal stories of her blessings.
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Blessings. A simple word that evokes a myriad of emotions from nearly everyone. Sometimes, people only consider the super-size good things that happen in their lives a blessing: escaping from a fire with their life, receiving a financial windfall, or the birth of a child.

Today, I was IMing and texting with my friend Kat. We did not have any one topic that we were speaking about, but at one point, she said “A blessing in everything, right?”

That simple sentence resonated loudly with me. I am a firm believer in seeing the good despite the bad, in the bad, and because of the bad. When I changed my IM status yesterday, it was to say, “Blessings are abound.” Both the previous status message (***name withheld***: Fair Winds and Following Seas) and this one were directed to a dear friend of mine (although I do not know if he ever notices my IM statuses, to tell you the truth). He recently suffered a great loss, but has focused on the positive things in life prior to that loss and since. This same friend tends to find “good” things everywhere, which is one of his traits that I find most fascinating and most attractive.

The other day, our family (I use the term loosely, but you will have to read my blog to find out why: it is too long to add to this post!) was informed of a situation one of the teenagers has created: she had premarital sex and is now pregnant. My first instinct was one of anger (I did not want said teen to live with us, and when she did move in with us, I spoke to her at length about refraining from sexual activity or protecting herself). My second, one of information (telling her what was expected of her, giving her options for handling her choice-she wants to keep the baby, helping her understand what the cost will be financially, reiterating the rules of the house).

Later, much later, my feelings also included feelings of joy and happiness. Despite the difficulty, the disobedience, the disappointment in bad decisions … a blessing can be found in this situation. We will soon have another member of the family. If we can guide this teenager properly, she can overcome her past and her own upbringing and become a great mother! There are other blessings to be had from this situation, namely the lessons that the other children in the family are going to learn from this difficult situation.

I have been looking for the blessings in life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in an extremely abusive home (emotional, mental, and physical abuse). However, blessings were abound: I had parents who loved me (even though their methods of showing me so were often abusive), we had plenty of food to eat, wore nice clothes, lived in a beautiful home, traveled to see other family members once a year, and did not go without anything we needed. I was in an extremely (and mutually) abusive relationship after I moved out of my family home, which forced me to make a serious decision about my life: I joined the military and lived in two states I would not have seen otherwise. I married young, and discovered soon after that I was pregnant despite believing I could not have children: my child is the biggest blessing of my life, even to this day.

I drove across country several times as a young, single mother. The first time I drove from Florida to California, I had all of the money I possessed in my wallet to get me there. My child developed an upset stomach and emptied her tummy all over herself in the middle of nowhere, Texas. I pulled over to the first gas station I could find, which I normally would have ignored (I always went to larger-named chains because there were more people at them). I cleaned up my child, changed her car seat cover, put gas in the car, then went inside to rinse out her clothing and the car seat cover before putting them in a plastic bag. The next time I stopped, we were literally getting down to fumes because I had miscalculated our mileage. When we pulled into the station, I discovered that my wallet was gone. Nearly hysterical, I managed to find the receipt from my last stop. I went inside and begged the cashier to use her phone, and called the previous gas station. The attendant squealed with excitement when I explained my situation, and told me they had all been worried “to death” about me because they knew I was traveling alone with a baby. She promised to forward my wallet to my next stop. I then tried calling my family to have money wired to me, but was unable to reach anyone. One of the truckers overheard my conversations, quietly went to the counter and paid for a full tank of gas, two bottles of water, two burgers, two apples for me, then left. The attendant came over to tell me about it, and I tried to find him to thank him, but he was already on the road. When I finally went outside to head to my next stop, I found a $20.00 bill on my front windshield. I have since paid ALL of those blessings forward, threefold!

I had a house fire soon after purchasing my first home, but the children were outside playing, my BFF and I were able to get out unharmed, and my six cats were all rescued without any harm.

My stepmother was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 44, which caused all of us to spend more time at home. Shortly thereafter, I was laid off from my job, which allowed me to move in with my Dad & Stepmom at the same time my brothers and sister moved home. We all lived together in the small family home until my stepmother died six months later. We were very blessed during this time to have that six months to spend with her and each other as a family. I myself had never lived with them growing up, because I lived with my Mom and Stepdad. The time my child and I spent living with all of the family was incredibly beautiful to us … we developed strong relationships with this side of my family we would not otherwise have developed.

Shortly after we all moved home to live with my Dad & Stepmom, Hurricane Charley tore through our town (we were a direct hit). The roof was torn off of our house while we hunkered down inside … but the ceilings stayed intact, the walls stood mostly firm. We survived with flying colors, and we were blessed to have done so. The next two hurricanes that blew through Florida that year gave us an excuse to pack up and visit family for a week each time (once we went to NE Florida, the second time we went to Tennessee). Family members that would not have otherwise had any time with my stepmother prior to her death were treated to a surprise week of love and laughter. More blessings.

The developments in our town after Hurricane Charley brought me to my next two jobs, the second of which I stayed with for two years. An opportunity for me to move back to NW Florida developed, and so I moved out of town. Soon afterwards, I discovered that in the two months after my departure, most of my fellow coworkers were laid off (starting the day after I left!), and within six months the company pretty much went under.

My best friend’s baby was born with cancerous tumors in her back. Within a few short weeks we discovered that these were not going to be dangerous, but they led us to discover a mass on her liver that would have likely killed her within four months if left undiscovered. Baby S has fought a long hard battle (she is only five months old, but still …), and has endured chemotherapy and two surgeries and is still undergoing chemotherapy … but she has her life, a wonderful prognosis, and has brought a whole community of people together.

Blessings can be found in day-to-day activities as well. I stopped by the store for milk and toilet paper tonight, and witnessed a person helping a homeless woman and her three children. I know people who often do “good” things for those who cannot help themselves. A simple, sincere smile is a blessing that can bring the light to the heart of someone who is having a difficult day.

All of these blessings came to mind as I wrote this (rather lengthy, sorry!) blog. How many blessings can you think of off-hand? Have you discovered the art of paying them forward? If not, I hope you do.

Blessings are abound … they can be discovered anywhere, anytime. Discovering blessings is an art that each of us can develop in our hearts, and by doing so, we will paint the world with sunshine, fill ears our with laughter, and touch the hearts of one another with love and joy.