This is Temporary

Just last night as I was straightening up our outside sitting area, I noticed CeCe had put out a new “thing.” CeCe likes to decorate and honestly, just between us, she is very talented with finding these “things” she accessorizes the house with. I laughed as I strolled by and glanced up to see our new sign: CLOSED.

This area under our porte-cochere is our social area for family, friends and even strangers walking or driving around the neighborhood. With our COVID-19 shelter in place orders, I laughed as CeCe was putting out our official notice that we were CLOSED for business until further notice.

I laughed, but I was also very sad as I knew we would miss these special social times.

This morning with full daylight to help my eyesight, I see our new “thing” doesn’t say CLOSED; it says BLESSED.

I love CeCe’s mindset of gratitude and her new accessory is a daily reminder that even if we are temporarily CLOSED, we are BLESSED in so many ways. What a great time for us to reflect on how BLESSED we are. A time filled with uncertainty, fear, panic, depression, and yet we also see courage, love, service and hope.

What are some of our blessings? How can we serve others during this pandemic? There’s real peace and joy for us when we focus on being BLESSED and blessing others versus what might be CLOSED in our lives.

I’m praying for you, our leaders, and our country as we battle COVID-19 and deal with the negative emotions that flood our minds. Let’s put BLESSED on our mantle and focus on actions we can take now to ensure a bright future. We will be OPEN again.