Was I lucky or was I blessed?

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.  ~ Voltaire


Thank You, Lord...  Don Moen


I am lucky, with a grateful heart, I give thanks and praise!

Yesterday, after spending an afternoon with the family of the man I'm officiating at his funeral this morning, I returned to the church to work on his service.

Listening to a family, in these situations, I write pages of notes as I ask them questions, and they begin to share memories.  So that I include as many memories as possible, I scratch out a story, thought... as I work.

That is what I did yesterday until 7:00, when the choir arrived for practice.  I had promised to participate in the 9/11 choir, so I hit "SAVE", and shut my computer down. A typical long day...until I pulled the flashdrive out that contained not only the service for today, but ALL of Sunday's services for the two worship times and the rest of my life....

This isn't mine, but it looks very similar.

The flash drive casing broke exposing all my work within those tiny wires to the entire universe and my pages of notes for today's funeral were scattered and scratched out.

I am thinking all this journaling about trust, being in the moment rather than borrowing trouble from the future...  All this "good" emotional stuff...

I'm thinking it may actually be paying off!

I couldn't fix the flash drive so I placed in a styrofoam cup and participated in choir practice. An hour later, I packed everything up, along with my exposed memory card...and I began my long drive home, not feeling anxious, but more in the present moment...and in that moment, life was good!

Driving, I did think that I was thankful to have good coffee on hand since I was most likely going to have a very long night.  But, would you believe, when I got home, I carefully inserted the skeleton of a flash drive in my PC...and everything was there!!!!

I was lucky.

This morning I got to talk with Daughter #3 for a long time, since I had not been up all night working on a funeral service and trying to begin again on the worship services for Sunday.

My heart was warmed as I listened to the emotion in her voice as she talked of baby Gabriel.

I was lucky.

But...question....was I "lucky" or was I "blessed"?

I hesitate to use the word "blessed" because I am wondering if I would have still felt blessed if three years of sermons and other pieces work like today's funeral service had been gone?

I did feel a bit sick standing there holding the skeleton of my flash drive, but I feel blessed that my normal panic didn't set in sending me spiraling down into an anxious pit.  This morning I can relate a bit to Daniel's story.  No, I wasn't surrounded by actual lions, but are the worries we pile on ourselves, are those "our" lions?

Just some rambling thoughts and questions this morning that come from a week full of "life".

But, I've a funeral to finish and a long drive to make so I need to get moving!

Lord, may I take your presence of peace with me throughout this day. Who knows, if I carry your peace, and offer that peace to another, who carries your peace and offers... We could change this world!

I am smiling this morning with a prepared funeral service and memories of talking with my daughter about this new and amazing little life. For fun this morning...

Peace Train by Cat Stevens.


Hummmm......sitting with Cat Steven's words...what a wonderful song as we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Whether I have been lucky the past day or blessed....I am thankful.

Many Blessings ~ Sandi