Grateful for Gratitude

A blast from the past - I'm thankful we've grown up a little since this journal entry from 2 years ago!  A grateful heart makes everything better.

July 18, 2010 - 9:15pm 

Today has been a long day…Alarm going off at 6:15 for no reason, no nursery at church, Walker throwing up in the foyer, leaving church early, Brayton crying in the parking lot from scraping his knee, Walker crying at home from hitting his head, Wyatt crying for getting his hand slapped for hitting Walker in the face with blocks…Crying, crying, crying, lunch, nap (2 hour highlight of the day, by far).  Grocery store, dinner prep, more crying by Wyatt – wanting to go outside, pulling at my legs, climbing on the kitchen table and dumping the salt all over God’s creation (for the 3^rd time in 2 days), pulling soda cans out of the pantry, glassware out of the cabinets, books off the bookshelf, clothes out of drawers, and so on.  He is really wearing me out.  Finally, eat, bathe everybody, and time to put Wyatt in bed.  Oh, hi, Grandma decided to come and visit. J  Bedtime put off for another good 30 minutes.  Good, didn’t want to get that over with too soon.  Another fight with the big boys about brushing their own teeth – they’re somehow scared in there at night and afraid of scorpions, and Daddy always does it…Wouldn’t it be weird if our pajamas were toothpaste? (Walker).  Tucked in bed, I plop on the couch for some comfort in the form of mindless TV watching, only to find Mystery Theater Masterpiece on my favorite channel.  I get up to let the dog in and Grandma’s dog charges in with him.  I trustingly let her out the front door thinking she’ll just follow me to her home.  No, she bolts in the opposite direction into our neighbor’s courtyard and I have to chase her down barefoot.  Not getting off easy tonight…except, Dozer is cleaning the pans in the kitchen, which is the extent of any cleaning happening tonight.  The tomatoes on the cutting board and the pans on the floor will be there in the morning.   

I am grateful for the overwhelming gratitude I woke up with this morning.  My cup was overflowing thinking of the blessings showered upon us by God.  Sending someone to buy our car, having a minivan in the driveway, $1500 in our pocket from the sale, food in the fridge, and everything else we could possibly need.  I’m glad I started out with such a fantastic amount of gratitude, the day could have been really bad otherwise.

Dear God, Thank you for blessing me so abundantly that there are always so many things to be grateful for.  Thank you for three-year-olds and patience gained, especially during those first couple of years of life.  Thank you for seasons in our lives.  Lord, help us to know your will and to trust you at every turn.  Help me to detach from wanting to know "What is next?"  You have taught me that self-love is responsible for that question.  Help me to take each opportunity as it comes and make the most of it.  To love well.  Please give me the grace to love You enough that I can patiently wait on You to reveal Your plans for me, and be detached enough that if You chose to keep me in the dark forever, that would be fine, too.  I want what You want.  Amen.