Been a beautiful day today in so many ways. Been busy doing chores and filling bird feeders and folding clothes and feeding relatives’ animals. A full day. Saw three things today that brought me joy and thankfulness for the blessings in my life.

The first thing that made me count my blessings is a photo my nephew with a huge smile on his face. My nephew is on a Make A Wish Foundation trip and is having a wonderful time visiting several Major League Baseball parks. His family and four friends accompanied him on this trip. Their first stop was Fenway Park in Boston, watching the Braves play the Red Sox. Sadly their favorite Braves lost that night. He was allowed to climb up in the Green Box at Fenway where the scoreboard is still hand operated. His smile says it all in that photo and is positive proof of the power of prayer and faith in God’s blessings.

Their next stop was Yankee Stadium in New York watching the Yankees versus the Mets and than on to Citi Field in Queens to watch the Mets versus the Nationals. Just the smile on his face in the photos from this trip bring tears to my eyes. He and his family lived a hellish two years praying for his recovery from a rare blood condition called aplastic anemia. Only two out of one million people are diagnosed with aplastic anemia each year. After months of various treatments he endured chemotherapy and had a bone marrow transplant. He missed most of his senior year in high school but kept up with his studies and graduated as valedictorian.

He spent months in the hospital quarantined away from family and friends. Yet every photo his mother posted during his illness and recovery captured that beautiful smile. He knew he was destined to make the world a better place and is well on his way to doing that. He’s finished his freshman year at Auburn University and is thriving academically and physically. A grateful thank you to the Make A Wish Foundation for closing the door so happily on his illness and recovery.

My second joyful moment was a huge bed of zinnias at my niece’s home. I think I inspired her with my beds of zinnias years ago. The zinnias are painted with God’s beautiful ethereal watercolors. I don’t think any artist could capture the hues of these simple southern blooms in their myriad of colors. They just make me smile. I tried to cut a bloom of every color. Zinnias are the toughest flowers in the garden and come in every color in the rainbow. I miss not having zinnias in my flower bed. I’m determined to grow several rows of them next year. They’re just beautiful explosions of color when the sun kisses their petals. I love them. They make such a pretty bouquet in a fruit jar.

We need to be as determined as a zinnia. The summer heat, the tough red clay soil, and the lack of rain doesn’t phase them. They just keep opening their blooms and worshipping the day’s sun. We could take a lesson from them. Don’t give up during times of adversity. There is always a rainbow at the end.

My last moment of joy was watching a small patch of clouds welcome the paint brush of the sun as she lay her head down for the night. I tried to capture the clouds but as usual the coloring only last briefly and then was gone forever. I caught a little hint of its beauty.

We live such a brief time on Earth and we’re surrounded by so many wondrous gifts. We should be grateful to wake up with breath each day. We’re not promised that life won’t be difficult but I’m a firm believer in prayer and my faith has gotten me through some hard times. God walks besides us and stands beside us in the hard times. “Jesus never said life would be easy, but he said it would be worth it,” —Matthew 7:13-14.

“Find ecstasy in life: the mere sense of living is joy enough,” — Emily Dickinson.