Green Girl Granny Nanny Update: Visible Blessings

Hello from the "Granny Nanny"! 

My prayer is that your fall season is just as beautiful as fall is in Tennessee. One of my favorite things of my "new normal" is waking up in the morning before my little protege stirs, making her coffee and opening up the back door towards the mountains. I have never seen mornings more beautiful then they are in this neck of the woods. The sun shines through the giant oak trees that stand proudly in front of the mountain view, and I feel closer to God. 

In my precious "5 hour freedom Wednesdays" I have decided to write about the visible blessings that have been poured from heaven since my arrival to this new chapter of my life. My days are usually extremely busy and full, taking on the appearance and feel of being a stay at home mom, so there are so many things that happen that are certainly "blog worthy", but I don't have time to just drop the dishes, cleaning the bird bath or frying up a hot breakfast to grab my lap top and capture that moment in words.

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be "ahead of the game". I want to know the answers as soon as I can, and even though I have an extraordinary amount of patience when it comes to answering the same questions every 5 minutes, I have very little patience for not having answers to problems I want to solve now, things that I would like now and dreams that I would like to come true now. I think my mother would probably testify to that fact that this weakness/desire ( however you choose to look at it) has been demonstrated in my life since the moment I exited the womb.

Since being at this new job, I've been trying so hard to let go of things that I simply can't control and don't have the resources for. It drives me crazy when I see something that needs to be changed, fixed, adapted or enhanced and I know the answer to the need, but for whatever reason I can't do it right now. About two weeks ago I finally let go and said "Ok God, we've done this before. I'm running ahead of you, and you are grabbing me by the shirt and telling me to sit down. And God, I'm going to sit down because I know that your plan is so much better then mine. So, fine. Here it is. I let go."

The result?

• The neighbors brought over a delicious home made meal, complete with my favorite dessert ever; brownies! And not just any brownies...these brownies are definitely home made and I'm certain Betty Crocker has lost her place in my heart. This created an opportunity to connect with other people, despite the reality of being confined to a house 90% of the time. It also gave me a break from having to cook anything, while giving me fewer dishes. Thank you Jesus!
• One of my goals since being here is to get my little lady "out and about" about two times a week. She is such a social lady, but due to her stubbornness ( something we both have in common!) it is usually a challenge to get her to get out. Her beautiful 93 year old sister lives in the nursing home in town, and I have been trying for awhile to get her out to go see her. Yesterday we did for the first time, and it was a blessing for all of us. Not only has God seen fit for granny to still have her sister and her sister to still have her, but for me to be doubly blessed with two beautiful, precious senior women. Yes, God had to take away many, many more of those lovely people for me to have these women, but the relationships that are being built within a family and in a home is far more of a blessing then I could have ever comprehended. Thank you Jesus!
• For the first time in a very long time, I have felt very little stress. I thought that the stress that I experienced on a nearly daily basis was normal and was simply going to be my life, but for the first time ever, I'm realizing what it means to "ease into" a day and to truly be at home in something. My strengths, talents and gifts are being utilized and lessons are being taught to help me grow as a person, with minimal stress. Thank you Jesus!
• This morning I went to a sweet, charming coffee shop down town. As I laid my devotional and Bible on the table in front of me, a barista came over and said "I LOVE that devotional!". We made a connection, and it turns out that she just moved to town as well, and has been attending a home church in town. Those odds? Only Jesus.  Thank you Jesus!
• It is clear that through this job, God is giving me an even deeper desire to be a wife and a stay at home mom. He is teaching me how to balance my needs with taking care of someone else's, how to get in the habit of keeping up a home on a regular basis and cook food other then a bowl, cereal and milk. Thank you Jesus!  

May you take the time to sit and thank God for the visible blessings in your life. And if there are none that you can see, may you trust His heart that you will soon. God bless!