Streams in the desert

I'm writing this from the beautiful Sandy Cove Ministries location in North East, MD.  I'm here to lead worship for an event unlike any I've done before.    It's a "Health and Wellness" week-long event, complete with healthy menus along with the recipes and portion size suggestions so we can take the meal plans home with us.    Everything has been counted out for us based on a 1500 per day calorie count. I'm hoping maybe I can lose a few pounds.    I had a very rich birthday last month!  Though the morning started out cloudy, I did end up with some sunshine in the afternoon.  I rode my Honda, washed windows, watered flowers, went out to lunch with a friend and enjoyed many Facebook birthday wishes.   But the highlight was taking some time to reflect on my gratitude journal entries from the past 4 months.  At someone else's suggestion, I began this type of journalling in December. I have been writing down five things each day that I'm grateful for.     I was blessed beyond words as I read through my expressions.  A true, unforced attitude of gratefulness rose up on the inside of my heart.   I have a deeper revelation of the term "streams in the desert".   In the past, my journalism consisted of honest thoughts and ramblings which sometimes can be very melancholy. The past year has been a difficult one with my Mother's numerous falls and declining health. I have had some challenging ministry decisions to make also. But as I read through my gratitude pages, you would think that my life is grand and glorious, filled with rich things, moments and people. And actually, that is the truth. Though it has been a desert, my entries were like streams of refreshing as I reflected back. The glass is truly full, not half empty, not half full, but FULL! I still do longer journal entries in another book, but I am starting to see why the author who got me started on the gratitude journal encouraged this discipline. It's subtle, but powerful. I highly recommend it if you struggle with maintaining a positive attitude when life is hard. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.