The Little Things...

Yesterday was such a busy day...I'd been up off and on all night with our youngest son so I was feeling pretty warn out. I had to clean the house before a ladies' party I was having in the afternoon, our middle son had a birthday party to attend, and my husband had just been called to a job while he was trying to cook us breakfast so we didn't get our usual Sunday morning breakfast together. My frustration from being tired, feeling the time crunch, and my husband having to take a call was bubbling over on me. I stepped away from everything for a few minutes and out of nowhere, I heard two simple, sweet, humbling words...

Be Thankful!

I took a deep breath and felt the calm start to flow over me. Instead of continuing to think of the things that weren't going right and were making me more stressed I began to think of the things that were going right, that I should be thankful for. And you know what, the pros significantly outweighed the cons!

Here's my list...

• We don't have much room in this little house, but at least we aren't homeless.
• We can't always buy fresh produce at the store, but my kids always have full tummies.
• It feels like my husband is always working, but at least he has a job in this economy.
• My kids always want me to play with them, at least they still like having me around!
• We don't have fancy stuff, but we do have luxuries like clean water, heat, electricity, doctors...And let's face it, those aren't things you can get everywhere!
• My relationships with family members aren't always great, but I have family, I know who they are, and at the end of the day I love them no matter what different paths we're on!

So there it is, part of my list. I could go on and on about the pros & cons of life but I don't have all day to sit at the computer and you get the idea, right? I wanted to share my list with you. Not to gloat but to encourage you to do the same. Life is busy, people get stressed. Our priorities change and sometimes we worry about what we don't have more than what we do. I'm certainly guilty of it! So here's to wanting what we have, not having what we want! And when the enemy starts whispering in our ear like the friend who "comforts us in a tough time" by reminding us just what's troubling us, we should turn to him and say..."Look at everything I have! Who do you think gave me all that?!"