One by One

I found myself humming a tune today

from the days of bouncing pigtails,

and seersucker dresses that sway in the springtime,

the warm sun stopping by for a fall-time cameo

as the humming vined into words

I didn't know I still knew . . .

Count your blessings

Name them one by one

Count your blessings

See what God has done

Count your blessings

Name them one by one

Count your many blessings

See what God has done

The men deep frying the turkey on the back porch

standing and staring at the steam rising like the peace in their eyes

My mom and my daughter doing makeovers in the living room

as five and fifty year old giggles give and take in a teeter totter of joy

I smile in the kitchen through glass measuring cups

and start singing again, the verses stirring like the wooden spoons in my hands

When upon life's billows

You are tempest tossed

When you are discouraged

Thinking all is lost

Count your many blessings

Name them one by one

And it will surprise you

What the Lord has done

This has not been the easiest year of our lives

we've felt a little sea sick in those billows

leaning over the sides, a little wary and green,

our heads spinning in the changing winds

But today, the waters are calm and we set aside a day of Thanksgiving

for the sunshine, and even the tossing tempests

because we held on to You and eachother

long enough to look around and see all we have to thank You for.

Count your blessings

Name them one by one

Count your blessings

See what God has done

Count your blessings

Name them one by one

Count your many blessings

See what God has done

("Count Your Blessings" song by Johnson Oatman jr, 1897)

one husband to grow up and old with,
one daughter to love and guide closer to You
one family that passes down a legacy of worship
one job You hand-stitched in the shape of Me
and counting one by one feels a little daunting
like grains of sand on a beach, the clouds in the sky,
or Your promise to Abraham that star-gazing night.
And all I can think to do is sing
and think of You.

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you." Deuteronomy 8:10