Today hasn't been the easiest day, and tonight I was going to tell you about it. But then five things combined to change my whole outlook:
1. visiting Valerie's blog; and from there, clicking over to read about Conner, a little boy who's battling leukemia
2. also from Valerie's site, clicking here to read about Lucy
3. thinking about Luke, a young man we know, who is valiantly fighting cancer
4. remembering the story of Colton Burpo's near-death experience, told in Heaven Is For Real, a book I started reading last night and found difficult to put down
5. listening, while I cleaned up the kitchen, to Corrie Ten Boom's experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, recorded in The Hiding Place from Focus on the Family Radio Theatre
After all of that, I realized, "On second thought, I don't have a thing to complain about."
If Paul could speak of his troubles as light and momentary (when, in reality, according to human standards, they were anything but!), I can certainly take a similar attitude with my minuscule burdens.
So, never mind. I'll take my complaints only to God. And meanwhile, I'll start this attitude adjustment by counting my blessings...
...starting with the five warm bodies sheltered under my roof tonight.
Thanks for the reminder. I need to have more of that attitude.
ReplyDeleteYep, it doesn't take long for our complainings to be put into perspective when we look at what others have. Humbling, and thanks for posting x
ReplyDeleteOn second thought - again - I should have said SIX warm bodies under my roof...because, of course, I'm also grateful for my own body, though I wasn't thinking of it when I wrote FIVE warm bodies.
ReplyDeleteOr I could have said it this way: FIVE warm bodies, and ONE very-hot body. That would be Shav, whose fever got up to 102.6 last night. I'm not complaining! Just using this as an opportunity to thank God for the easy availability of acetaminophen and ibuprofen--in liquid form--in delicious flavors, no less. So many people around the world and throughout history didn't have the luxury of trying to decide between the Bubble Gum flavor or the Cherry one.
Aww...Shav is still sick. I sure hope he gets better soon.
ReplyDeleteI need a dose of your positive attitude, Davene. I'm afraid I tend to be grumpy and to complain rather much!
ReplyDeleteI *have* been adopting the practice of taking my complaints only to God. Sometimes I'm about to burst..."I've got to talk to someone who understands!" And there is Someone who understands it all, waiting for me every time.
Bless you today and I hope your troubles are few.
I worked in a children's hospital for several years before I had kids and I would make promises to myself, as I watched families suffer, that if I ever had kids of my own, I would never stop remembering to be thankful for their health. But, of course, I forget all the time. I let myself instead get frustrated by their vigor (because vigor is so very LOUD) and energy (because their energy is so very LOUD) and endless questions (because their questions are so very..)--forgetting that all of these are evidence of healthy, growing bodies and healthy, growing minds.
ReplyDeleteYou always help me to dwell on good things, Davene! I pray Shav's recovery is swift.
hey there! did you finish Heaven is for Real yet?? i read it a couple months ago and couldn't put it down either, i think it took me about 2 days! such an amazing story!
ReplyDeleteMichelle - I haven't finished it yet, only because I haven't picked it up again! I know that, when I do, I will NOT want to put it back down, so I'm waiting until I have a longer period of time before I get back into it. :)
ReplyDeleteMy parents bought it; and within 24 hours, both my mom and my dad had read it. Definitely an exciting book!
It reminds me some of "The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven" which I read earlier this year. Have you read that one?
wow. powerful words, davene. we ALL need to do the same.
ReplyDelete