Bonus Blessings

There are times in life that a blessing comes from God that I don't expect, didn't see coming, and is perfectly timed to bring an extra does of over the top joy into my life.  I call them bonus blessings.  As believers, we are blessed everyday.  Salvation, the mere fact that Christ gave His life on the cross for us all is a blessing that can not be topped and goes above and beyond anything we could deserve.  The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, daily, counseling and teaching us is a phenomenal blessing on top of that.  The will of God laying out a plan for our lives that is filled with purpose and hope is a blessing and reassurance for our future.  These spiritual blessings that come automatically when we make that decision for Christ, and never leave us are blessings that can not be counted or ever appreciated enough. 

And yet, our God in His generosity and love, pours out even more for us. He blesses us with friends and family, laughter and fun, adventures and excitement so that we can have moments of happiness in our daily lives while we still walk in this world.  One of those blessings in my life is, Brynna, or BG as I began to call her in utero. She's the niece of my heart,  as she is the daughter of the sister of my heart, Regina.  She is precious, adorable, stubborn, strong-willed, brilliant, and more than a handful.  She can make you laugh and get herself in timeout all in the same sentence.  When she was born I thought she would grow up down the street from me, and for the first 18 months of her life that plan was happening. I saw her all the time and she was working herself into my mall companion rotation already, but then she and her family moved to a new city thousands of miles away, so phones and Skype became our way of connecting. If you've every tried to talk to a two year old on the phone or on Skype you know how challenging that can be.  So, I began to worry that she wouldn't know me the way I wanted her to know me.  I wouldn't be the Nay Nay in her life that I planned on being.  Somehow though, the love that I have had for her since before she actually was born had crossed the miles over these last 18 months that she has lived away.    A couple of visits  last year, and lots of technology assisted contact, along with pics and more, have somehow held my place in her heart, so that yesterday, when the car pulled up to the airport and I opened her door, she opened her arms and my heart melted a little more.  

Bonus blessings in my life are getting to laugh hysterically with my best friends or cuddle up on the couch with my husband, or watch March Madness with my family.  My bonus blessing this weekend is  getting a big smile and a big hug from my sweet BG.  Thank you, God for the bonuses!