News from Nonna: Counting My Blessings! Over and Over.....

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Counting My Blessings! Over and Over.....

Working at the Liberty Tax Office has been an experience of a lifetime. (One I hope I never have to repeat) So I am trying to learn everything here that the Lord wants to teach me. I have great compassion for Richard and for the amount of blood,sweat, and tears, that he puts in each day. He is a hard worker and a very efficient and caring person. I have seen him get up every morning early enough to be in here by 7AM and we don't leave until after 9PM. I have seen him give discounts to people who are in desperate need and even do some returns at no cost. He rarely even takes time to drink water and so when I am gone we will all have to send reminders. But, I respect his work ethic and hope that this year works out to his advantage. If I thought that I had to stay here until April I would be very depressed.........

Secondly, I think the Lord wants me to be aware once again how richly blessed I am. Not only in material goods, but with family, raising by my folks, ethics, honesty, hope. CLEANLINESS OF BODY AND SPIRIT............................Woe you can't even imagine. I feel as if I have been living and working in the inner city and the despair I see on some peoples faces is haunting. And the sad thing is that, that despair is passed on to the next generation. I think some of these little children will never have a chance to be anything different than what they have been taught. So many of these folks aren't married, fighting over who claims the children etc. When I was growing up we were not well off financially but we were clean and happy. I am very aware of not judging others and I swear I have treated every one with respect. But I think that the biggest impression that I will come away with is, that the Light of Christ, and the hope that shines from faces of those who know, is so apparent and is so vacant in the ones who don't.

I have also discovered that I am a little OCD. I have those Clorox wipes out every time someone leaves from the tables and as we speak I am soaking the Legos, in hot water and soap. Right now I feel as if I will never be clean again, and then I think of people in third world countries. So you see my dilemma. I have counted my blessings almost continually since coming here and for that it has been a wonderful experience. BUT DON"T TELL RICHARD!

6 comments:

TD said...

It is amazing how we are all blessed. I remember when we went to Mexico, and I saw people washing their clothes in the river. That made me realize that I am blessed.

JJ said...

I am glad that you are having these experiences. It is not always the way we'd like to learn and be reminded of things but it is sometimes the best.

There's a part in The Alchemist that says "What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.'

Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested."

JJ said...

Truly an amazing book. One more part out of it...the boy is asking (and I hope this doesn't give anything away) why he wasn't "saved" from his trials/journey.

"No," he heard a voice on the wind say. "If I had told you, you wouldn't have seen the Pyramids. They're beautiful, aren't they?"

Read this book!

Emma Jo said...

We are all blessed, what an amazing family to be a part of!! I'm impressed that you are working alongside...and heavens, I AM GRATEFUL FOR OCD PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO CLEAN THE TOYS AND TABLES. I seriously wonder if some things ever get cleaned in nearly every place I go into...and we religiously anti-bacterialize our hands upon leaving. Love you!

zippity-do-da said...

It's almost like your own mini mission. What a unique experience.

Anonymous said...

You are truly an amazing person. How blessed we are to have you in our lives. We love you!! God bless and keep you in his care!!