A List of Names

This is our last week in the Pacific Northwest. Our last week in our home that we love. One last week of goodbyes. Last times.

It is in the midst of these goodbyes that my list of one thousand gifts, my list of gratitude, is starting to fill with names. Names of the people I love. The girls I will miss dearly. The moms and kids we will no longer see at the park or share an afternoon with. Our babysitter. My small group leaders. The kid's teachers. Name after name filling my list.

• A friend who listens
• Words of affirmation, confirming something that I was secretly thinking, spoken by a friend
• A teacher who sees Middle Man as special and unique
• Authenticity shown in the life of my friend
• My wise friends who I learn from in ways they would never expect
• Hockey Boy spending one last day at his buddy's house because it is the one thing he wants to do before we move
• A friend who always has a smile to share
• The woman who is a dose of sunshine on a grey day
• A brother and sister in law who I can trust
• The Sunday School teacher who keeps teaching the kindergartners year after year with such love
• Our babysitter who knows my kids so well and who we trust so much we can really relax when we are away 
• A group of girls who get me out of my house and remind me of who I am as me, as Jen
• Friends I met when our first babies were born, who shared the struggles of new motherhood with me and who now we can enjoy a nice evening out without the kids. We have come so far in these last 8 plus years.
• Her...
• And Her...
• And Her...

The list goes on and on in my head. So many instances when I was one of these names touched my life and was a little gift from God in that moment. I have been so incredibly blessed by the amazing people in our little piece of suburbia. My kids have been cherished and valued. I have been encouraged and loved. I have laughed out loud more and shared deep hurts. I have learned to receive and even give hugs. I have found women I love deeply and cannot imagine my life without.

My list if full of names. Names of the people that God put into my life. Each one a gift that keeps giving every time I spend time with one of these names. It is easy for me to add to my list of gifts when I think of the people in my life. Name after name floats through my head. Memories that bring such incredible joy to me.

What names are on your list today? Who has blessed your day, your week, your year?

I am counting my gifts as part of Ann Voskamp's Multitudes on Monday community. If you have not read her book "One Thousand Gifts" yet, you really should. It has really made me think. It is book that I feel compelled to share. You can also read more of her words and the words of other list makers at her blog - A Holy Experience.