This morning I do not take my hot cup of coffee and warm bowl of oatmeal for granted, not even for a second. It's more than just a cup of coffee or a bowl of oatmeal, it's much more. As I sip my cup of coffee and eat my oatmeal while checking emails, I realize how blessed I am. Josiah and Ava Beth are in their rooms playing, Ezekiel is taking a morning nap and I just loaded the dryer with a load of clothes. Just hearing the laughs of the kids or the screams, hearing the sound of the air purifier in the baby monitor and hearing the buttons of the jeans hitting the inside of the dryer as it runs, happens to be music to my ear.

At times the day to day is frustrating. For I wish I could jump in the car all by myself and head to the mall! At times it seems that all I do is referee between my four year old and two year old. For I wish they could get along for an entire day without one disagreement! At times marriage can be so difficult. For it's nothing like what's in the movies! At times it seems the laundry is never caught up and the truth is, it isn't. At times I think taking care of my three children is the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life. Well, it is. But this is still the greatest life ever!

I will never get over it. I will never get over the fact that I am living my dream. It is impossible for me to forget those days of living alone as a single adult and wondering if I will ever be married or have children. In about four weeks I will turn thirty one years old and still it seems like that twenty-four year old girl waiting on her dreams to come true was just yesterday. I can't even imagine my life without my husband, he is my best friend. And what on earth did I do with myself before there was Josiah, Ava Beth and Ezekiel? I'm guessing I slept a lot. Sleeping was once one of my favorite things to do!

Quite often I will look around and think to myself, "Wow. I am really here. This is the family I dreamt of my whole life." After growing up the way I did, after living in a home with so much pain and heartache, after watching my Dad drink years and years of his life away, I can't help but stand amazed at how my life has turned out. The nights and nights I prayed and cried out to the Lord as a young girl, asking Him to give me a normal family. Even then I could hear His voice telling me that my prayers would be answered in ways that I never imagined. The years I felt unloved, insignificant and ugly, I never thought the life I have now was even possible.

How blessed I am to actually be living my dream. Not very many people in this world get to see their dreams become reality but I have. I am doing everything I have always wanted to do and the best is yet to come. My friend Kathy tells me that God is not finished with me, He's got more dreams to fulfill. She said, "You still got stuff in layaway!" And she's right, there's more!

You see it's not just any cup of coffee or any bowl of oatmeal. It's a cup of coffee I can sip in my beautiful home with my beautiful family. It's a bowl of oatmeal that fills me up in ways I can't even describe. It's a dream come true and I'm never going to stop thanking God for it.

Thank you Jesus for saving my life and bringing me out of so much pain. Thank you for this dream come true.

Labels: prayers answered