Count Your Blessings

Depending on what mood I'm in, the phrase "count your blessings" can either sound pretty quaint, or pretty cheesy. Just sayin'.

Last night I attended our church's first annual, Count Your Blessings event. We gathered and had a delicious dessert buffet (special thanks to the kind soul that brought lemon sorbet!), sang songs, shared what we're grateful for, had Communion, and collected a few more reasons to be grateful around our tables.

I remembered how about a year and a half ago, I used to count the things I was grateful for. I was up in the hundreds when I fell off the wagon of counting them. I should say, that now, in this season that feels incredibly full, it may be worth it to start documenting these reasons again.

Funny thing was, that I remembered the wonder I felt when I was a kid last night. Chris (our Senior Pastor) was leading us through what it looks like to pay attention... to pay attention to what we're grateful for around us, and allowing that to shape us and remember our communities, our Earth, and be more aware of what God is doing.

As Chris was using the illustration of noticing the feathers of birds on the ground, I remembered my first visit to the L.A. Zoo. The first exhibit I can remember seeing was that of the flamingos. I remember being so amazed at how pink they were, how they all stood differently (some on one leg!). I wanted to stay and look at them for far longer than the rest of my class...

Today, as I walked to work, I admired the colors of the leaves (as I usually do!), and gave silent thanks for the leaf shower I received as I walked. I smiled as some landed on my head, feet, or tickled my face as they fell... giving thanks for that same wonder I had as a kid back at the zoo.