As I was walking my dog this morning among the tall pines along the creek that flows near our house, I was startled by an elderly gentleman who was hidden below in the trees, picking up trash along the stream banks on his property.
"Hello," his deep voice resonated. I jumped slightly and turned to see him and his dog.
"Sorry, looks like I frightened you."
"Yes, you did. I didn't see you there. Hello. How are you?"
"I am richly blessed."
Richly blessed?! Those were the first words out of his mouth-the first thought to come to his mind and response to speak aloud. As I walked on, I reflected more deeply about the significance of this first immediate response from an older person-most experienced in life. I thought , yes, yes you are blessed, you have two working legs, two seeing eyes, two ears that hear, two arms to pick things up and obviously a well functioning brain and you live in a gorgeous place. As people age these basics of living, become more and more significant.
Then I thought, do I apply these same criteria for myself to feel richly blessed? Yes. Even though I have a son who suffered mental illness and took his life. I miss him to the point of physical pain, but am I not too "richly blessed"? All the criteria I applied to the gentleman, do I not also have? In addition, I have three amazing, healthy intelligent and gifted children still on this earth. I have a husband who loves me. I have a loving caring mother who is still present on this planet. Today is mother's day- a day for any mother who has had a child die to be tempted to sink into self-pity, grief and sadness. But thanks to an angelic stranger on my walk today- I can appreciate that on this day to honor motherhood, I am RICHLY BLESSED.
