by Dr. Tina Marcantel
I took my little dog Sandi for one of her regular walks down the street the other day. As I watched her sniffing at flowers and exhibiting pure joy at the new scents she was discovering, a vivid picture popped into my mind of my sisters and me excitedly hunting for Easter eggs.
Each year my mother would distribute the little plastic eggs around the yard—most filled with candy and a few would even contain a quarter or two. Some of the eggs were craftily hidden away under the hydrangea bushes or in the crooks of trees while others lay in plain sight. As we combed the yard filling our baskets with treasures, we’d often walk right by those eggs several times before someone let out a whoop and scooped them up.
Remembering those precious times made me start to wonder what blessings I might be missing every day.
Life presents us with both visible and hidden delights when we are awake to our surroundings. It’s the ordinary, everyday things that are the sacred gifts. Abundance abounds, waiting to be discovered.
I looked around me at the spring flowers in the yards, and at the brilliant blue sky above me, and I thought—this is all so beautiful! And I began to think of the other “eggs” that I walk by every day and sometimes fail to appreciate:
*Waking up to a clean kitchen courtesy of a considerate husband—abundance abounds!
*Rediscovering an appreciation for the imperfect yet beautiful artwork around my house that my children gifted me with when they were younger—abundance abounds!
*The unconditional, adoring love of a pup at the end of a long workday—abundance abounds!
*Simple, encouraging words from another—abundance abounds!
*Time spent with good friends—abundance abounds!
Sometimes we get so caught up in looking toward the future—our next job, our next raise, our next house, our next vacation—that we miss the blessings lying around our feet right now. There’s nothing wrong with anticipating the future, but I don’t want to do it at the cost of missing the Easter eggs waiting for me to collect right now.
My wish for you is that you’ll fill your basket with all the abundance that surrounds you today! Happy Easter!
My sisters Annette, Renée and me ready for Easter services!
