September Blessings

                         

                                         Mombasa sunrise photo by Sami Khan

To September,

Here you are. I can't seem to squeeze you tight enough nor get enough of the enormous doses of beauty in the shades of the evening sunsets that remind me so often of how real God is.

It's amazing how things can change in such a short time but writing hasn't changed nor has my love for lists. Writing to you has been on the top of my to-do list. I'm grateful for so many things September....

# For God. For the quiet strength and courage He gives me in situations where I don’t see how I'll make it to the next day. He keeps reminding me that He sees the bigger picture, that not even my best laid plans can match His great plan for my life. I’m learning to let go and trust Him with my future; not just for the years ahead but for the simplest thing like what lies beyond the next bend.

# For family; for supportive sisters, a praying mother and lovely nephews who remind me that life is far much more than scheduling meetings and working late but also about the people in our lives and the precious moments we share.

# For imperfection; my warts, freckles and all. For two left dancing feet and a shower voice. For a carefree spirit, for long braids held loosely in a bun without care, for juice spills on white blouses, for mistakes and procrastination. I am grateful for it all.

# For the sound of music and how it nurtures me. How I can turn on the radio and a song speaks the story of my life story so well as if the writer was watching my life through a glass house. How I can find music in any tune, even the rustling of leaves on a windy day. How the sound of music can pluck all the pains and joys I try to avoid or hide.

# For nature. There is so much beauty in the winds that tangle my hair on a windy day and I love the refreshing smell of fresh fallen rain.

# For little children. I take comfort in their faces, in their innocense, in their playful childish dialogues, in the lessons they unconsciously teach through their skinned knees and bruised ankles as they learn how to ride a bicycle.

# For friends; for those who ask you how you are doing and actually wait to hear the answer .For those who try to reach out despite the clashing work schedules and demands of life. For those that know the bad and ugly but still choose to see the good in you. For those friends that know me so well they can see my innermost thoughts through the surface of my skin.

# For humble beginnings; For the little raindrops that eventually make a downpour, for the journey that starts with that single step. For the bits and pieces that finally make sense together.

# For strangers in the bus, on the streets..those who indirectly teach you about life through their own struggles.

# For coffee shops in the early mornings while waiting for a client and the unintentional rush customers seem to be in. For Moha and how he always smiles while serving tea at the same time trying not to mix up the orders.

# For the good days and bad. Whether in lack or in plently, I’m learning how to be grateful in whatever situation I find myself in.

# For the times I think am alone in the deep end waters only to realize that God is silently present keeping His eyes on me. For the perfect stillness He has given me in raging storms.

# For things I sometimes take for granted like good health, food on my table, clothes to cover my back and a place to call home.

# For 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances that God keeps giving me even when I know I don’t deserve it.

# For the comfort I find in simple joys; thrift shops, books, park benches, pages of old journals the serenity found in an empty church on a Saturday evening and listening to Ray Charles.

# For new people who breeze into our lives and become part of our tomorrows.

# For you, September and the blessings you are yet to bring along.

What are you grateful for?

Faith is taking that leap into the unknown without any certainty about "WHERE" you shall land, but rather on the belief that you "SHALL" land.