Love Lists

One of my favorite people in the world e-mails me “Love Lists” – lists of things she loves. We had a huge rainstorm last week, and the next day I received this from her:

I LOVE . . .

• fresh clean air
• thunderstorms
• wonderful soaking rains
• green grass
• day lilies
• bubble wrap
• laughing kids
• mud puddles
• rain hitting my skylight
• planting seeds

I usually try to respond with a list of my own, but she’s far better at it than I. You see, I have so much to learn about gratitude, and I am sure that is why God has put this friend in my life to remind me of His goodness in the simple, everyday things. I’ve saved her love lists, and altogether there must be hundreds of items there. I love that she can find so much in life to love!

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17a). Listing those “good things” and “perfect gift[s]” is such an easy way to remember and acknowledge what our Father has done for us.

So I’m challenging you to try it: Compose a letter or an e-mail, or make a journal entry, or tape a list to your refrigerator of what you love. Maybe you can think of only nine or ten things today, but maybe you can add more to your list each day for several weeks or even months. Before you know it, you could have a list of 100 things (or more) you love, and whenever you look at that list and remember that everything there represents a gift from your Father who loves you, well, won’t that just make you smile and love him a little bit more?

Blessings,
Lisa