Some dates just stick out in my head. February 2nd is one of them. Ever since I was in high school, I proclaimed this day as my least favorite day of the year. It was on this date that my first dog died. I loved her and was devastated when she died in my arms that morning! She was the family dog, but she was mine. She didn't always have the greatest personality- she could be a little feisty. But, I loved her no matter what. And, she loved me no matter what. To a teenager, that unconditional love is important!
When years later, my gran passed away on the same date, it was destined to be the worst date of the year forever! I admired her for many reasons. One of them was her talent for writing. As I started writing this blog, several people remarked that I must have gotten the writing bug from gran. I hope so! When my sister and I were young, we used to spend a lot of time with her. We cleaned her apartment and got paid- that was a big deal to us. We used to play cards together and I love playing cards to this day. We played pinochle most often. Whenever I think about pinochle, gran comes to mind. It's odd things that remind me of her- split pea soup, vienna sandwich cookies, waving at trucks over the highway. I was blessed with unconditional love from her, too. And, I'm sure through my teenage years that was sometimes not easy to do.
Today, I thought about gran and my Maggie. But, I didn't focus on the date being awful. In fact, I had a pretty good day. It was my first day for planning at the YMCA and I had a great time! I can't believe I now have 2 jobs where I have to stop and pinch myself and say "they actually pay me to have this much fun?!" I had more than twice as many teens today as I've had any day so far. I had businesses that agreed to donate to the Teen Center. And, my high school youth raised over $100 for the famine because generous people from the community gave them donations. Yes, I'd say this was the best February 2nd I've had in years.
I think it had to start with me- making a choice to not start out the day by saying "I hate February 2nd." as I have done for years. Although I cringed a bit as I wrote the date, by the end of the day when I wrote it, I followed it up with the thought, "it hasn't been a bad day!"
So, where was God today? He was in the people who donated to my Teen Center, the people who donated to my youth for the 30 Hour Famine, and in all of the people that in some way showed that they cared. It's time to change today's plan. I don't want it to be a bad day anymore. It's time to honor the unconditional love that was shown to me. Next year, on February 2nd, I will thank someone for the unconditional love they have shown me. And, I will do some act of unconditional love for someone else.
Everything we do is a choice. Every thought and feeling we have is a choice. And, when bad things happen, we can choose to keep them bad or we can choose to turn them in to good. I choose to turn today into a good day. And, in that, I will see God, who has unconditional love for all of us!
“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” Psalm 59:16
Blessings,
Jennifer
When years later, my gran passed away on the same date, it was destined to be the worst date of the year forever! I admired her for many reasons. One of them was her talent for writing. As I started writing this blog, several people remarked that I must have gotten the writing bug from gran. I hope so! When my sister and I were young, we used to spend a lot of time with her. We cleaned her apartment and got paid- that was a big deal to us. We used to play cards together and I love playing cards to this day. We played pinochle most often. Whenever I think about pinochle, gran comes to mind. It's odd things that remind me of her- split pea soup, vienna sandwich cookies, waving at trucks over the highway. I was blessed with unconditional love from her, too. And, I'm sure through my teenage years that was sometimes not easy to do.
Today, I thought about gran and my Maggie. But, I didn't focus on the date being awful. In fact, I had a pretty good day. It was my first day for planning at the YMCA and I had a great time! I can't believe I now have 2 jobs where I have to stop and pinch myself and say "they actually pay me to have this much fun?!" I had more than twice as many teens today as I've had any day so far. I had businesses that agreed to donate to the Teen Center. And, my high school youth raised over $100 for the famine because generous people from the community gave them donations. Yes, I'd say this was the best February 2nd I've had in years.
I think it had to start with me- making a choice to not start out the day by saying "I hate February 2nd." as I have done for years. Although I cringed a bit as I wrote the date, by the end of the day when I wrote it, I followed it up with the thought, "it hasn't been a bad day!"
So, where was God today? He was in the people who donated to my Teen Center, the people who donated to my youth for the 30 Hour Famine, and in all of the people that in some way showed that they cared. It's time to change today's plan. I don't want it to be a bad day anymore. It's time to honor the unconditional love that was shown to me. Next year, on February 2nd, I will thank someone for the unconditional love they have shown me. And, I will do some act of unconditional love for someone else.
Everything we do is a choice. Every thought and feeling we have is a choice. And, when bad things happen, we can choose to keep them bad or we can choose to turn them in to good. I choose to turn today into a good day. And, in that, I will see God, who has unconditional love for all of us!
“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” Psalm 59:16
Blessings,
Jennifer
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