Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

This morning I woke to a feeling of overwhelm. A feeling of no control. Things to do. Work to do. The stress of no list of projects. The stress of two kids having a rough night sleeping. 

And I tried to sleep. I really did, but I couldn’t. So, instead of dwelling on the overwhelm, I turned it off. 

It wasn’t easy. But I started at my hair, my hands, my ears – counting my blessings. This is a trick I use to calm down. To try to return to sleep.

And my mind wants to wander. It wants to so bad. To the bad things. To the things I don’t like about my house. To the pile of work. To the pile of dirty laundry calling to me from the corner. 

But I fought that list of bad things. Things I can’t do anything about at 4:22 in the morning. 

The way I fought it was to turn my mind to God’s gifts. The senses he gave. A warm home. A blanket. Snuggles with my sleepy babies. 

A husband that snores. Yes, it’s annoying. But he’s there. His hangers on the bed. His socks on the floor. The seasoning salt I asked him to put away is still on the couch. 

But he’s here. With me. A gift from God. A friend. A man who loves me more than he loves himself. 

My mind wandered to the woman who was pleading for her husband to come back home to her and their girls on Facebook earlier in the evening.

I felt her pain. But I couldn’t relate. I’ve lost loved ones But not that connection only a couple has. That bond. That love. All I could do was pray for her and use this as a reminder of the blessings I have right here, right now. 

All we can do is thank God for the blessings. For each moment.

As a work of God, it’s our job to turn to gratefulness in times of stress or despair. To look for Him in every situation. And to pray for those we know we can’t really comfort.

When we focus on the work he did to make us, it’s a little easier to face the day with a smile rather than a sneer. 

My prayer for you today:

Heavenly Father, May we remember to count our blessings and our days as gifts from you. We praise you and your creation even when we feel like we don’t deserve it. We praise you for the trials and tribulations. We love you and seek our refuge in you. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.