Practicing patience…

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Tessa Todd Morgan

I’ve been practicing patience the last few weeks looking forward to what is to come. I was surprised to find a nest with 15 eggs in a planter box in my backyard a few weeks ago.

Seeing a mother sit patiently waiting for 28 days for her ducklings to arrive is truly inspiring. Can you imagine mostly sitting still doing nothing for 28 days?

And, it has been a miracle to witness the father flying in for occasional visits and watching the two of them interact with one another. It’s incredible to see how the mother safely covers the eggs with feathers for protection when she leaves.

In such a fast moving world, it’s nice to slow down and watch tiny miracles unfold. It seems in a society where we can get distracted in as little as 3 minutes and it can take up to 23 minutes to get back on task, we are sometimes missing the miracles all around us and they almost have to be right in front of our face in order for us to see them.

Every time I make it a point to search out and be present to the things around me, I am presently surprised that there are miracles to witness when I make it a point to notice. I’m amazed when I get to speak to groups on mindfulness at how much this is needed for all of us these days. Not to mention how great it is for stress relief when we are actually present. When we are living in the moment we can’t be living from a place of regret or shame of the past or worry and anxiousness of the future. What an added bonus!

What miracles have you been present to lately?

Duckling video and photo sharing to come…if you want to see more follow @tessatoddmorgan on Instagram or Facebook.

Feeling God’s Love Through Loss

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Tessa Todd Morgan

Do you feel God’s love during the tough times and even when you are going through loss?

My uncle passed away recently and a sweet soul recommended that I feel God’s love throughout the process as I was traveling to say goodbye to him and again when I was returning for the funeral.

Interesting that the one direction I’d like to say that I would have turned during this time may not have been the case had I not been reminded to do so.

As I sat in the hospital room with my cousin, I kept reminding myself of these wise words and kept telling myself to feel God’s love. I think one of the hardest things in life is saying goodbye, especially in the cases where you know you will probably never see someone that you love again.

As the time approached for me to say my goodbyes, I felt like a 12 year old little girl who wanted to cry out for my mommy and daddy that happened to be in the waiting room down the hall. When my cousin asked me if I wanted to be alone or if I wanted her to stay with me to say goodbye (and even though my goal was to be there for her and be strong for her), I instantly burst into tears and shrugged my shoulders and “I don’t know” were the only words I could half way mumble out of my mouth.

She gave me a minute to collect myself and I pulled it together and decided I would tell him goodbye alone. It was a sweet moment to kiss his cheek and forehead and tell him how handsome he was and that I loved him very much. I felt God’s love in those moments.

I also got to witness my cousin caring for her father in such a loving and sweet way and I was amazed at how beautiful it can be to watch life come full circle and see a daughter take care of her father when he is no longer able to do simple things for himself anymore.

She was so strong and patient and loving and kind. And again, I felt God’s love.

I felt God’s love as all of our family gathered together again for the funeral two weeks later and got to spend time together. I also felt it as we all walked down the church aisle together and sat down beside one another for the service. And again as we listened to my cousin be so strong and bravely speak about her father and tell wonderful stories and share memories and once more from a beautiful email that her brother sent out following the service sharing his personal stories.

I believe that we have opportunities daily to feel God’s love. As I drove out of town to say goodbye to my uncle and was focused on feeling God’s love, the sky looked prettier, the trees looked greener, the birds were many and flew closer than usual and beauty seemed to surround me everywhere that I went.

I believe that God’s love is always with us. Sometimes we just have to ask ourselves to be open to it and to feel it, especially in the times that we need it the most. We can feel it through love from others, seeing beautiful things, through witnessing miracles, through loss, through birth, through death or through great things happening to us and having an overwhelming sense of literally feeling like God is blessing you because he loves you so much.

Have you felt God’s love lately? If not, would you be willing to allow yourself to feel God’s love soon? What would it take for you to allow yourself to accept it? Perhaps realizing that no matter what you really do deserve it? I believe the greatest gift we can give to God is to allow him to show us how much he loves us. I wish that much love for each and every one of you today and always.

Have You Noticed Any Miracles In Your Life Lately?

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Tessa Todd Morgan

Have you noticed any miracles in your life lately?

I truly believe that we witness miracles on a daily basis and half the time we take them for granted.

I’ve lived in San Diego twice and the first time I was there for five years. I pretty much lived anywhere from one block to one mile away from the beach the whole time.

Being at the beach and seeing the ocean is my heaven on Earth. For me, I feel like it is the place where I can be closest to God and where I can witness the most miracles.

The sun setting on the water, the colors changing every moment, the beautiful waves crashing and the sounds they make, the occasional complete silence between the waves and the sand. I believe that every grain of sand is a tiny miracle from God.

Being on vacation this week in Florida, I’m reminded at how many miracles surround us each day and how sometimes we can take them for granted. Luckily, I don’t think I really ever took the beach for granted when I lived there. I do however think it’s so cool now that I don’t live there and haven’t been in a while how I feel like my appreciation has been magnified this week.

Last night, I had the privilege of sitting with the beautiful soul that I’m vacationing with on the beach and we got to watch this beautiful sunset above while listening to some incredible music. It seemed so perfect that we even joked about how it almost seemed fake or like we were on a movie set. I felt like I was on The Truman Show and the entire evening was being designed just for me. To me, that is a miracle.

What miracles have you witnessed lately? I bet if you thought about it, you’ve witnessed alot of them. I love being able to relax and take a break and take a step back from reality and the busyness of my life to bring me back to seeing things with a fresh and new perspective.

We have the ability to witness miracles multiple times a day. A sunset. A butterfly. A snowflake. A suffering person still being able to smile. The detail on insects wings. Someone conquering their fear. Great communication. A death. A birth. Unconditional love.

As if the sunset wasn’t a big enough miracle, the picture below is what we got to witness shortly after the sun went down. My iPhone camera can’t really do it justice, but it was the most beautiful moon on the left and the brightest star on the right that once again, looked fake.

Beautiful sunset + beautiful company + beautiful music + beautiful darkness + moon and bright star = Love

Wishing you all beautiful miracles and love on your journey the next couple of weeks.