Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, thankfulness, gratitude

Such simple words & such a hard concept to master.  Today exactly 2 days after Thanksgiving, I am left realizing the importance of being thankful. I hate to admit, this is a mental area that constantly needs re-focusing every day, about 20 times a day.  You know, I wake up to SCREAMING at 5:30 thinking "ahhh Blakely it isn't tiiiiime to eat yet-great, just great! If you eat now then the WHOLE day is off"-Then I stumble out of bed get her fed (off schedule) and do my devotion, which this month conveniently has been about thanksgiving, thankfulness, gratitude and scripture backing it each and every day.  So, I then refocus and realized okay, how can I see this situation differently...thank you God that I have a baby that is healthy. I have a baby that cries perfectly telling me that she needs something and I have the ability to comfort her.  Thank you God that I am able to WALK to her room, pick her up, and care for her. Thank you that I am one of the few people that gets to stay at home and care for my baby-what a privilege!

Then one minute passes and my coffee spills, as I clean up the mess I realize the condition of my house, the terribly awful mess that is now suffocating my OCD self.  Stuff everywhere-ahhh how frustrating-"I juuuuuust cleaned this" I think! I start the down-hill spiral of complaining again- "no matter how much I clean, it is always messy" So I clean and consistently get more and more angry.  I then glance back to my devotion book and think "how can I view this situation differently?" Okay Kate, at least you have a warm home, a safe, beautiful, warm home in a wonderful location.  At least you have a family that helps create this mess... At least you have the legs and hands and ability to clean up your beautiful house.

Later as I dress out of my pj's into my clothes for the day, I am displeased with pretty much everything in my closet...Still about 10 pounds away from my ideal weight-bad thoughts fill my mind.  I get so down on myself for lack of self control when eating and exercising! I then almost immediately hear a commercial claiming some ridiculous statistic of malnourished beings.  SO many people live without the money to buy food & here I am complaining about a couple of pounds...

I walk out to the mailbox and see bills-uuuuuugh-water-how is it double last month??? I don't want to dish out that kind of money on WATER! Then I see this donation card for missionaries overseas supporting those with NO water and immediately thank God for Clint's amazing job that pays for that water.  I thank God for our clean water and toilets that we don't even think twice about.  More than 1/2 the world doesn't even have clean water-much less toilets.  It is the simple, everyday things that I just seem to always take for-granted! We are so blessed-may every complaint turn into an acknowledgement of God's provision.

I pray that these revelations will become second hand to me one day & that those complaints will come out thanksgiving! For through that thanksgiving, God you are glorified-and after all isn't that our whole purpose here on earth?