My Monday Gratitude

This weekend I read a religious poem by Mary Gardiner Brainard, published in March of 1869, and it made me think of my count towards 1,000 gifts.  I enjoyed it so much that I thought I would include it in my post today.


I did, however, have to look up the definition or origin of one word.  The word Marah.  If you'd like to know what it means, you can read about it here.


Her poem was also set to music in a hymn, arranged by Philip Paul Bliss, in the 1870's.  If you'd like to read the lyrics and hear it you can do so here.


And now, Mary Gardiner Brainard's poem entitled Not Knowing.  Published in March of 1869 in The Congregationalist.

I KNOW not what will befall me:  God hangs a mist o'er my eyes;

And thus, each step of my onward path, He makes new scenes arise, And every joy He sends to me comes like a sweet surprise.

I see not a step before me as I tread on another year;

But I've left the past in God's keeping,---the future His mercy shall clear, And what looks dark in the distance may brighten as I draw near.

For perhaps the dreaded future is less bitter than I think;

The Lord may sweeten the waters before I stoop to drink;

Or, if Marah must be Marah, He will stand beside its brink.

It may be he keeps waiting, for the coming of my feet,

Some gift of such rare blessedness, some joy so strangely sweet,

That my lips shall only tremble with the thanks they cannot speak.

O restful, blissful ignorance!  't is blessed not to know;

It keeps me still in those mighty arms which will not let me go,

And lulls my weariness to rest on the bosom that loves me so.

So I go on not knowing,---I would not if I might;

I would rather walk in the dark with God than go alone in the light; I would rather walk with Him by faith than walk alone by sight.

My heart shrinks back from trials which the future may disclose,

Yet I never had sorrow but what the dear Lord chose;

So I send the coming tears back with the whispered word, "He knows."

Thank you to Ann Voskamp at, A Holy Experience, for writing the book One Thousand Gifts; and offering up the dare "To live fully right where you are."

Now to continue on my journey to 1,000 Gifts.  No.(s) #0022 - 0031:

#0022.  That God in all His glory, saw fit to give me another day in this glorious life.  To behold its beauty and share in the joys of my family.

#0023.  That my washing machine and dryer work; and I am able to do the laundry from home.

#0024.  That I am caught up on laundry for the first time in weeks.  Every towel and washcloth, every sock and unmentionable, every pair of jeans, every shirt, all of it is clean.  I'm thankful that God gave me a burst of energy to get it all in order.

#0025.  For the excitement my son had over a new pair of jeans.  His favorite kind, the cargo ones with pockets on the legs.  Oh the things he can carry in there.  What fun!

#0026.  For my cat who shows his affection for me by rubbing on my legs, climbing onto my lap and falling into a deep sleep.  By meowing in conversation with me {yes, I'm one of those people, I talk to my cat}.  By following me into every room, even the bathroom or reaching his paws under the door because he has been shut out and desperately wants in, where I am, to be with me.  He loves me.

#0027.  That I have a working vehicle allowing me to get from place to place; and that I can help others who don't have a working vehicle get where they need to be.  I'm so excited to take my niece to her prenatal exam, I get to hear the heartbeat of my unborn great-niece, Kathryn.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." ~ Psalm 139:13-16

#0028.  I'm so thankful for God's protection in all things.  That he protected my sister-in-law and her friends, from harm in an automobile accident this weekend.  God is always with us, always.

#0029.  For the sound of the church bells that ring through my neighborhood.

#0030.  For the sound of my children singing in unison the words to the 80's song I'm All Out of Love, this weekend.  It was lovely and funny and just wonderful to hear.

#0031.  For joy that comes in the morning and the birth of each new day.  A brand new day, "with no mistakes in it."