Grace to Live in the Moment

 

 

Hey, Friends! Today, I want to share my story recently published in  Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grandparents. I pray your summer is going well and you’re able to get out and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. Thanks for reading. Blessings & Peace 😎✌❤

 

There is a saying: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the ‘present.’

~Oogway, Kung Fu Panda

 

My granddaughter Madison was three years old when my flower garden drew her in. She stood in front of a rosebush and leaned close. Cupping a Barbie-pink blossom with both hands, she nestled her face into its petals and breathed deep.

“Meema, your woses smell so so good.”

“Madison! Don’t smash it!”

I knelt in the dirt, yanking at weeds. The day before, I came home from a relaxing weekend trip to a cluttered home: toys tossed about the living room; wet towels on the bathroom floor; dirty dishes with last night’s dinner stuck to them.

So, the overdue weeding got to me. I have to do everything around here. I live with the laziest people on earth. And why am I raising my granddaughter? I, the victim. I, the under-valued. I, so sweet and blessed just yesterday at a women’s retreat. I.  I. I.

In the middle of my pity party, I realized it was a bit too quiet. Looking up, I saw a rosebush stripped almost bare. My face flushed hot. I was about to get angry.

But then I saw Madison twirl.

Her face was toward the sun and her pigtails stuck straight out. With little arms raised and her palms to the sky, silky rose petals fluttered from her hands and floated to the ground. Shades from pink to white blanketed the brown mulch and wound around the other nearly naked bushes. Dizzy from her dance, Madison wobbled and then steadied herself. Her eyes were wide-open as she admired her work.

“Oh, Meema. Isn’t it bee-u-tee-ful?”

Watching my granddaughter changed my toxic thoughts. My self-focus and snarky attitude lifted. I saw my brown-haired, blue-eyed little burst of energy as a gift. Though it was sometimes difficult and exhausting, I was blessed to tuck her in at night with stories, hugs and kisses while her daddy was deployed with the Air Force. It was a privilege to say the words she wouldn’t hear from her biological mother, who left because she wasn’t ready to be a parent.

“Yes, Madison Grace. You are absolutely beautiful.”

Like the weeds in my flower garden, life’s messes can distract me from what’s most important. If I’m not careful, in a nano-second, my blessings become burdens. When it’s all about me, I whine and blame and complain about my plans, my comfort, my happiness. But a me-centered world is quite small, and it yanks the joy right out of life.

I’ve heard, “Life isn’t made of years; it’s made of moments.”

My moments with Madison remind me to grab life with both hands, breathe deep, and be thankful. To not let difficult challenges choke out the everyday blessings. I’m reminded that roses grow back, and children grow up. Boom. Just like that. And it’s so easy to miss it.

Sometimes, I still mumble and grumble. But each morning and throughout the day, I aim to choose right thoughts and attitudes. I pause and breathe a prayer because I do not want to miss one more priceless moment.

 

 

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