{Day 21} Beauty for the Heart: Blessings

The first Sunday of October I shared about passing on our faith. Last Sunday, we realized that life is short and today I want to share with you what my Mom taught me about looking for blessings.

Psalm 67:1-2 says, May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us. 

My Mom looked for ways God was blessing her even in the midst of having terminal cancer.

To share with you how Mom looked for blessings, this picture was taken the day we found out Mom had stage 4 gastric cancer. Mom asked someone to take this picture of us. At the time, a picture was the last thing I was in the mood for, but now I’m so glad I have it!

After we left Mom’s doctors appointment my brother, and sister and I took Mom to lunch. Then my sister and I took Mom to Lifeway Bookstore so she could get some thank you cards to send to people.

After we got home, Mom said, “This has been the best day! I had so much fun!”

I quickly replied, “Mom you just found out you have stage 4 gastric cancer. Not the best day!”  We laughed, but Mom looked for the blessings.

Over the next 7 weeks of her life, Mom found blessings everywhere. Cards from friends and loved ones were blessings. The sun shining was a blessing. When people brought food for us to eat that was a blessing.

Everyday Mom found something that caused her to see blessings. I can’t begin to tell you how that has changed my life. And not just mine, but our whole family.

We cherish the moments we’re together more than ever! Just yesterday, we spent time as a family at the pumpkin patch. My sweet Daddy and Janet had been planning this for weeks and Dad was so excited for us to spend some quality time together. And I’m reminded that that is a blessing!

And in case you’ve never met this little blessing, (and if you’ve been reading my blog for long you know I’m CRAZY over him) Colt Allen is our grandchild and my husband and I think he’s one of the best blessings the Lord has ever given us! 🙂

So today, let me encourage you to start looking for the blessings because they are ALL AROUND YOU!

Do you ever look for blessings during difficult seasons of your life? 

leave a comment...

  1. Thank you for posting this. I am taking care of my Mother. Her health is good but her memory is not so good any more and now is having problems with anxiety attacks. I need to look more for the blessings in this situation. Thank you for sharing.

  2. Cyndi, this is such a beautiful and inspirational post; I love it!! I’m sure your Mother was at her most beautiful the last 7 weeks of her life. Bless her for teaching ALL of us that gratitude is what makes us the happiest. You are much like her.
    Now, that precious grandson of yours… Oh my goodness! He is just a bit younger than my youngest grandson. Don’t you just want to pick ’em up and squeeze the stuffing right out of him. I always tell my little Trip I’m going to do that and he says, “okay”. Kiss up that cute face and be so happy and so blessed!

  3. Thank you for sharing your love and blessings you received from your mom. I love reading about that relationship. Unfortunately my mom and I are not close and have a very fractured relationship. I love to hear about those who have become closer to their mom as they have grown into adulthood. I’ve come to accept it just is and can move on with others in my life to fill that space. I am so blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law who exudes all the virtues of a Godly woman. Thank you as well for sharing that space.

  4. So true! It’s hard to look for blessings when going through life’s trials but if we do find them, we can get through so much easier. Thanks for sharing!

  5. Thank you,Cyndi. You and your blog always inspire me. How blessed you and your family were to have such a wonderful mother to share her faith with you. And it is the best life when you look for blessings all around you. They ARE there, if we will use our God vision to see them. Have a beautiful day!

  6. THANK YOU Cyndi…
    It’s so easy for us (me!) to focus on the small non-important happenings of the day and not focus on the many blessings that God provides. Your Mom’s story is certainly a strong testimony of how God teaches us to be joyful in EVERY circumstance.

    Thank you for blog ministry. You consistently inspire to be a better person for Him.

  7. Beautiful post Cyndi!! I love it… yes, I’m surrounded by blessings too! Sooo thankful for “every good and perfect gift from above”. God is sooo good! I have an amazing husband, 2 precious children and wonderful parents, sisters and extended family! By the way, that lil’ man doesn’t look like a baby anymore 🙁 They grow up soo fast! He is just precious!!

  8. Suzanne I am so sorry for your loss. I know that this has been devastating for you and your children. It took me a year to really start to see all the life lessons I learned during Mom’s illness. The first year was extremely difficult.
    Thanks you so much for stopping by and journaling all your blessings is a great idea!
    Blessings,
    Cyndi

  9. Thank you Cathy! This is what it’s all about to me! I learned so much from my Mom, most importantly to love Jesus with all of my heart.
    Thanks so much for stopping by!
    Cyndi

  10. I have had different times where I have wondered how I would react with bad news…my MIL has cancer for the 4th time and has reacted kind of like your mom… I would hope to react like your mother/my MIL.. BUT I’m afraid I’m not quite so nice but I read a book last year… One thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and I just wrote a blog post( I just started blogging) about it because I just think we all need to focus on gratitude and what we have to be thankful for..what a blessing and a model you had in your mother..what an uplifting story thank you for sharing. ps I can’t believe your are a grandparent you look SOOOOO young!

  11. Thank you, I didn’t look for the, but God made sure that I saw every blessing in the midst of sorrow over this last year. I need to write about them. I lost my husband suddenly while my 4 youngest kids and I were on vacation with my parents last July 11, 2011. He was home alone, and my oldest found him a day 1/2 later. Sad, but true. He had cardiomyopathy, which is weakening of the heart, but was given a prognosis of 15-20 years. 1 1/2 years later, I’m a widow with 4 kids 15 and under. Blessing 1. My oldest son, who is just 23, had just graduated from college and had just been hired for a temporary postion 2 miles from our house at a factory on day shift! He was home for 1 year to help me with the four youngest. Blessing 2. . .happened 2 days after he died. . .I could write a book, so maybe I’ll go journal all this! Thank you for the sweet reminder and the lovely story about your blessed mom!!