Spot on My View, and a "Thank-You !"

~This is my view as I stand at my kitchen sink and cook, clean, can our produce, and often my view as I talk on the phone, or visit with company. As you can see, our kitchen overlooks our living room and dining room . I love this view. As I work in my kitchen I can see our pond. I can watch the storms rage, I can see the sunshine, or the snow, depending on the season and weather. Often though, because I see this view so often, I take it for granted and can actually see out my window without really 'seeing'.~Lately this is all I see(below). The fruit from our orchard and vines is abundant, and the fruit in this basket is but a small bit of what awaits me in bags in the fridge and pantry. Again, I take for granted this abundance.....and I am ashamed. Lately I have viewed our abundance as a nagging reminder of the 'work' awaiting me, and the fruit is not patient. Oh no ! Fruit left unattended rots ! It attracts fruit flies, it goes to waste. Again I say, shameful ! ~This year I vowed I would be more diligent about preserving the harvest of the fruit and vegetables my husband works so hard to produce. For the most part, I have done that. We have quarts of pears, applesauce, green beans, grape juice, pints of plum, strawberry, and blueberry jam.I still have an awful lot of apples in bags and baskets, and as many more on our trees. I almost, I said ALMOST, complained. ~My view of the kitchen sink just yesterday, before I headed off to Alice's for spinning. I actually got all my grapes canned, as grape juice. The best grape juice I ever drank ( not including some very fine wine ) was grape juice I canned. I don't care for grape juice I have bought and usually prefer water to it, but I do like my canned grape juice. I got 21 quarts of grape juice put away in the pantry. ~Anyway, the point of this post is that I have forgotten perspective. Forgotten that I am where I should be, where I need to be. I have all I need and more than I ever expected to have in this life...and yet sometimes I will complain or grumble. I will be a little jealous of someone else, I will covet someone's view, or .......you get the picture. ( or view ) ~The last two years have been difficult years for our family, and difficult for me. I am so thankful for friends and family that upheld us in prayer, and did practical things like check up on me....give help to the family member we were so worried about, just listen as I poured out my heart and sorrows. Friends and family who also gently reminded me of what we did have..and WHO is really in control and cares for me and mine even when it seems not to be so. ~ I also want to say thanks to all of you out there in blog land, who even before I began blogging, were my view to a world that showed me people survive trials and tribulations . A world where hurting people were offered sympathy, humor, encouragement...perspective. And sometimes, a healthy escape, just for a few minutes, from what troubled them so much.To enjoy the life YOU enjoy and blog about, wow ! A small bit of living vicariously in healthy way, and seeing life through someone else's eyes and experiences. Recipes,decorating, art, joyous living and ultimate triumph through or in spite of tragedy ! ~Our prayers have been answered. I am so grateful for the working out of so many tears and prayers...to a good outcome I had given up hope of ever seeing. ( believe me, I can and do work up some pretty dark and dire outcomes to any situation) So, all this to say, here is my view from my sink. The cat enjoys it, my grandchildren enjoy it.....my hubby enjoys it, and so do I.

~But here is my prayer for my life, and also my favorite hymn.~ " Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart, be all else but naught to me save that Thou art; be Thou my best thought in the day and the night, both waking and sleeping, Thy presence my light." ancient Irish Hymn