Gratitude Tuesday (the post-Easter version)

We traveled back from Virginia yesterday, not getting in until pretty late. I was too tired to do a Monday gratitude post, though there was much to be thankful for at the end of a long, hard and stressful week.

We spent Easter weekend with my mother-in-law and stepfather-in-law. His alzheimer's has worsened greatly, and they are on the cusp of a very big move which is involving the selling of both their houses, including my husband's childhood home. We also went to the lot where developers recently bulldozed my husband's grandparents' beautiful little house to make room for the cookie cutter mansion now planted on the former lawn. Lots of stress and emotions over those few days, and much tiredness. And yet good to be together, good to love one another in the midst of it all.

The sweet girl has had a very hard week. Her anxiety struggles, which wax and wane, and which recently had seemed so very much better, kicked into high gear about a week ago. Our travels seemed to exacerbate them, and that was hard on this mama bear, who is feeling pretty worn out and in need of a fresh jolt of grace, gentleness, Jesus peace.

In the midst of it all: Easter! He is risen!
And yesterday, traveling our tired way home, our nineteenth wedding anniversary.

So.....the gratitude is poured out from a weary but deeply thankful heart.


127. Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

128. 19 years with my beloved husband. The grace to be able to smile our way through an anniversary day/evening which felt, by necessity, so prosaic and ordinary...and yet the joy of realizing how many prosaic and ordinary days we've been blessed with, as well as moments that sparkle and shine. And the knowledge that we're held together, through both, by God's great love and the love he's built between us, like a beautiful bridge.

129. The opportunity to just be present to D's family right now, especially his mom.

130. Safe travels to and from Virginia, especially knowing how tired we are and how old our car is.

131. A new windshield for our car.

132. An unexpected blessing of a gift from friends. The Lord continues to help us put aside some provision for the very lean months coming.

133. No answers yet on vocational/job questions, which loom so large. And yet more peace than we've expected in the midst of not having those answers.

134. The beautiful flowering dogwoods in Virginia, pink and white.

135. Time for the sweet girl to play in Grandma's yard and tree. The precious way she ran all around the house, hugging each corner of it to say good-bye, when we left.

136. As we "lose" yet one more home, one more green space (that feel so rare and precious in our lives) the opportunity to lean deeper still into Jesus, who is truly our home and truly our green space.