I am so thankful!

For two nights in a row, I have slept deeply - right through the night, no interruptions.  What a difference it makes for the day ahead when a person sleeps properly.

When I was a young child and even as a teenager, I used to enjoy such restful sleep and in fact, never minded being put to bed as I used to sneak my flashlight under my covers and read.  That was great fun and I am sure that my parents probably knew about it, but they never said anything.

It is rather strange how sleep patterns can change.

It was in my forties that my sleep became less sound.  In fact, in the Fall, and in the Spring for a number of years for one week I would not sleep soundly, if at all.  It was really hard to function as I was working full time, raising a family by myself, trying to cope with keeping up with housework and doing volunteer work on the side.  Let alone, being active in church work and having a number of wonderful friends which I tried to keep in touch with on a regular basis.

When I reflect upon the past, as one does when one gets older, I often wonder how I did all that.

Sleeping well truly is a blessing from God.  I am most thankful for the last two sleeps. I have woken up with energy, looking forward to the day.

I am so grateful for this blessing of life and my dear family and friends.

I have noticed one thing that one cannot out give God.  I used to keep a prayer diary many years ago, particularly when the children were small.  I remember one time when we had very little food to eat and a dear older lady came to visit us and brought a big bag of flour. She had found it on sale and thought it might come in useful for us.  With that flour, I was able to make many different things and I used the money I had left to buy some ingredients to make it stretch even further.

God has known my needs before I even mentioned it in prayer and sent what I needed in the proper time.

When I was injured on the job, trying to protect a sleeping child, I was unable to work for quite some time and lost my home.  Thankfully, my children were grown up by that time and I did not need to provide for them.  A friend in the United Arab Emirates spoke to her cousin Aziz and he wired me $3,000 Canadian money.  It was an unconditional gift.  Again the hand of God came through for him as well as me. He was in a terrible accident there and his car was totalled but he walked away without a scratch.  With that money, I was able to rent a bachelor flat and survive.

I could go on and on about so many blessings. I also have observed that a person takes one step towards God and he takes many steps towards you.

To give another example (very current), I had an empty parking spot which I lent to a friend who was in a terrible spot.  The car will be gone soon, it has been parking there for over a month now.  Just yesterday I called a person who had put up a notice saying he needed a parking spot, and he will rent it on an indefinite basis.  He is moving into our building and both him and his wife have cars.

There is so much to be thankful for in this hurting world.  My motto has always been "brighten the corner where you live", an old Sunday School song.  Since the world is getting smaller and smaller, the corner where I live includes the world.  I have had so many foster children over the years plus donated heavily to charities which bring medical aid and hope for the oppressed and will continue to do so until I leave this world.

If we count our many blessings, health, enough money to live, home, friends and family, pets we love and cherish, and a good night's sleep, do we not have a great deal to be thankful for?

On that note, I shall sign off with a sincere hope that you will be blessed by reading this and feel the Presence of God in your own life and know how much you are loved and cared for by the Almighty.

Thanks for dropping by.