With Gladness

One of these days I'll use my own photos.

I had a dream last night that I was pregnant. Not only that, but at one point I was holding

my belly and felt movement that was not my own. I felt my own child - children because in my dream I was pregnant with twins I think - moving around. It wasn't scary. I felt excited and wanted others to experience the same joy by feeling my belly.

Such a strange, but happy dream. I know of people that just don't dream. They go years between dreams and when they do dream, they're not particularly meaningful or happy. I don't dream every night but when I do, they're usually very meaningful - conveying my current mood, state of mind or a dilemma.

I'm happy that, through God's grace, I've reached a point where I can wake from such dreams with gladness, even if the experience isn't real. Even though things haven't worked out as planned, I'm still very thankful for what I have. I drove to work this morning thinking just how "lucky" I am to have the circumstances I do. Maybe that's what the theme of this new year will be: Gratefulness.

Consider the following statistic: According to Brilliant Maps, the likelihood of even being born in North America is 3.04% based on births in 2023. In the United States, that percentage drops to 2.77%. I imagine being lined up with 99 other people and being one of just three that are chosen... How wild is that?

As Christian, I think about how "lucky" I was to be born into a family of Christ-following, Bible believing parents. So many believers experience a feeling of distance or alienation between parents and family members when they convert and they're the only Christian.

Taking other things into account such as health, education, safety, friendships, work opportunities, etc. and we have so many things to thank our Lord for. We deserve so much less and yet there's so much we can enjoy and appreciate. I think one of my goals for this year will be to consider all that I've been given, even my trials, and be thankful. After all, they were chosen specifically for me. Which makes them more special, I think.