When it rains, it pours...blessings

Last year was a hard one for us financially as work was scarce, food storage and savings were running out, and we worried about our future and providing for the needs of our family. I found some old school papers, and in them was a paper that I had written from interviewing my great grand-mothers about their experiences during the Great Depression. As I re-read them, they felt unusually familiar to me, and I feared what the future would bring for our little family. I found myself mending my rags one day and didn't know whether to laugh or cry....Yet, as Christmas drew near, I couldn't help but think of all of the many ways we were blessed, consistently throughout our struggles. I kept thinking the phrase, "When it rains it pours"...but I couldn't help finishing the phrase "...with blessings!" To keep this post shorter I decided to leave out many of the details and just list briefly some of the things that I could think of:

• On three different occasions I helped neighbors move and came home with boxes of food and/or other household items they didn't want to move, but that our family could use.
• A neighbor paid me to help her clean her home, and sent me home with a box of expired food from the closet we had cleaned out.
• Another friend brought a gift for each of my children and one for our family(some thing they were able to open on Christmas)
• A cousin gave us his BMX bike to give to my son for his birthday.
• Some renters were throwing out a barbie doll house that we were able to clean up and give to my daughter for Christmas.
• A dear friend's son gave us his power wheels car that he had outgrown--It was such a wonderful surprise for our children on Christmas morning; something we never would have been able to buy for them.
• My husband came home from work with another box of food someone had received, but didn't want.
  
• My grandma said she got a great deal on some food and that she was cleaning out her food storage and sent us home with food and household items.
• Every few months we received a small bag of clothing from two different neighbors for my children.
• After receiving a bag of clothing, we still needed a warm dress for our daughter, but hadn't told anyone. A woman from our ward, that I never actually had a conversation with, knocked on my door. She just said, "Here are some dresses I made for your daughter. I didn't know what size she was so there is a size 3, 4, and 5. " The were warm, festive, and two fit just right. We still have one for this winter.
  
• A little before Christmas, a dear friend sent a card with cash she said that she received for her birthday, but never spent. I had been saving to get my husband a set of English scriptures for Christmas, but when Thanksgiving sales came, I used the cash to get groceries while they were marked down for the holiday. I said a prayer, took the cash from my friend, and went to Deseret Industries hoping to find a nice used set I could give him. There were none on the shelf, but I spoke with someone who brought a pair out from the back room that was nearly new, and I was able to get it engraved at a book store. I had just enough money left over to buy a couple of books for my children, and a few small gifts for family and friends that I felt could use some holiday cheer.
• My husband came home from work one night with a large turkey. He said that the man where he was working had a problem with his freezer and gave both he and my dad a turkey that was going to thaw. We quickly made invitations and sent them around the neighborhood and were able to have a great pot-luck neighborhood Christmas party.
• Our family vehicle died and we were left with our truck that our family couldn't fit in together. A woman from our ward heard about and told us her parents were selling their car. She contacted them, and they gave us a great deal and we were able to purchase their vehicle.
• I was offered a part time job at minimum wage, after working for a few months, I was offered a full-time job with benefits, just as my husband didn't have any more work.

I am sure there are many more things, but these are some that come to mind right now. I am so grateful for loved ones who bless our lives, for the blessings that seem to flow unceasingly, and for the struggles that help me to realize those blessings.