​JUNE GRATITUDE!

This April and May, Oregon got surprise rain which helps incredibly with our drought situation. Yes, I am thankful! We also got snow and freezing temperatures. Not quite so thankful. You see, we have this gorgeous wisteria that was about to flower. The tender blossoms were so close to full regalia. Then the freeze caused them all to die. I was so sad. I honestly grieved for about three days. It may sound silly, but this is one of the most glorious times in Spring, when the wisteria erupts into full bloom.

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Enter the blue jays getting busy making a nest in the bare wisteria. They labored for a time, bringing in all that they needed to make a strong, durable nest. And then Mrs. Jay must have laid her eggs, and began sitting in the nest day after day. We could easily witness this gestation period from the windows of the kitchen door. We were so delighted and prayed the baby jays would hatch. Then they did. At first, they were like little dinosaurs, so plain and pink and bare. We kept watching them grow in awe. The kids trusted us implicitly. They didn’t mind our two dogs and us frequently going in and out the door. They let me get on a ladder and snap their photos quite a few times. They would stare right into my eyes as I took the photos. (Mama and Papa Jay were not around, they would not have been so happy.) 

The photo was taken the day before they left us. Now we literally have Empty Nest Syndrome, yet feel incredibly blessed and grateful they chose to grow up here. We have high hopes next Spring the parent jays will come back to create more young ones.

My point about this is that we lost the flowering wisteria this year. And then, we gained the Jays who stole our hearts. 

I will be writing a book on Radical Gratitude and this is a lesson in how when things go wrong in life, if we look hard enough, there is a blessing in the loss, like with our cute little visitors this Spring. I have many other examples of times when life was horribly hard and then from the ashes, the Phoenix in my heart arose as I found other immensely beautiful, learning lessons from the pain.
 
If you are having a difficult time right now, please reach out to me at dperdue@graceofgratitude.com. I offer spiritual counseling and powerful affirmative prayer, and would love to share with you.