Life tends to be...umm...a little messy to say the least. We currently have a mini-van with a rear door that won't completely close. (I have this vision of my wife driving down the street with it flying wide open. There is absolutely nothing on the inside of the door that you can tie it down with.) We have a son who took a kick at our neighbor's...umm...private area yesterday and now is not particularly liked by his parents. (This also being our currently reforming thief and liar.) We spend every payday figuring out how exactly we are going to manage to pay the bills, feed three boys (with usually at least some occasional friends thrown in as well) who seem to eat all of the time (You know it is a bad sign when the people at Wal-mart are impressed with how many groceries you are buying and it is just a normal amount for you. Two carts tends to be the norm these days.) and maybe have enough left over to go on a date if we had the time. Sporadic friendships; the busyness of work; chaotic schedules of soccer, basketball, gymnastics, scouts, and guitar lessons; ungratefulness for the things we have...again life is a little messy. The thing is I don't think we are unusual. Maybe our messiness looks different than yours, but I am guessing we all experience a slightly chaotic life at times. But through all of the chaos is woven hope. Hope for what is to come. I was reading Lamentations this morning (not a particularly uplifting book by the way) and realized again that it is the hope in God that makes it worth it.
Even when life tends to be over abundantly messy, can we stop and be thankful? I am learning that when I am thankful, the messiness of life doesn't seem quite so bad. It doesn't necessarily change the circumstances, but it does change my attitude...and that can make a huge difference. So no matter what your current situation, what can you be grateful for? Take a minute and think about it. Is it the fact you have a car? Is the fact you have food to eat? Do you have people who love you? Maybe you need to just pause and remember there is hope. Maybe you need to write a note of thanks to someone. Maybe you need to go wash your car and be thankful for it. Whatever it is, even when life is messy, we have a lot to be thankful for.
2 comments:
Just spent some time with my youngest son Ethan at the lake near our house. I spent the time gathering Rocks for him to throw into the water. It wasn't really a formal time of prayer for me. It was more of a feeling of gratitude with God in mind. I think you're right to think in terms of gratitude. Gratitude seems to be the most natural place of a heart towards God. I think everything else finds itself there. Hope. Love. Trust. Worship.
This has been a good experience for me today. I have spent a lifetime going back and forth between extremes in things like this, so I'm learning to make no promises to myself. Rather, this moment is a good moment. How do you learn to live here? (real question. Not rhetorical. No hidden thoughts/answers.)
that's me.
Hey, you just described my current situation with that quote. Just moved into my third culture shock experience (Chicago, Thailand, now Taiwan) Felt an earthquake about 15minutes ago. Heather and I just looked at each other trying to read each others mind if we should leave the building. The girls can't seem to adjust to the correct sleep schedule. It was the first time in a while I begged God to help me just make it through the day. But I keep going back to the fact that God doesn't call us to be comfortable. Following God seems to put us right in the middle of messes sometimes doesn't it? I'm with you on this one.
Sorry I didn't catch you before we left one last time. As you can imagine, paperwork and family took all the last moments. We arrived safely on Monday.
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