Monday, November 15, 2010

Gratitude in Everything

The thing is that some days are good and some days are bad.  But do we have to experience the corresponding good and bad days with them?  It is easy to have a good day on a good day.  It isn't too much effort to have a good day on an only slightly off day but to have a good day on a bad day.  That takes the power of the Lord.

Saturday was a bad day for my husband.  He experienced Murphy's Law 10 different ways as he headed out on his first winter day to plow the 7 contracts I had drummed up (pretty good my goal was 10 but one was a commercial which I am counting as 3.)  The truck was parked in our backyard off the alley which was his first contract to plow.  He got started by getting stuck in the backyard before getting into the alley.  It pretty much went downhill from there.  Every time one problem was solved another would pop up.

I wanted to be able to solve his problems.  When he called to tell me the latest break down I wanted to be able to give him a magic formula to fix it and make the rest of his day wonderful.  But of course I had no more answers than he did.

I did have one trick up my sleeve.  Prayer.  I knew I couldn't fix anything but I knew who could.  And although it became clear throughout the day that things weren't going to supernaturally turn around and he wouldn't breeze through the rest of the contracts, I knew that John would not be alone.  I knew that this path before us may seem for the moment to be detoured out of control but that is only in our eyes.  In God's eyes Saturday went just as it should.  And among the trials there were blessings.

As I learn to develop an attitude of gratitude in my life not just in this month of Thanksgiving but day to day all year long, I stopped to ask myself what I could be thankful for and I was amazed how quickly I could come up with a list.
  1. 7 plow contracts
  2. A day with no other responsibilities in which to learn the plow routine and fix the problems.
  3. 2 neighboring repair shops that started a bidding war for our repairs and got the price down $100 from the original quote.
  4. The beauty of a freshly fallen snow
  5. A warm snowy day
  6. Safety throughout the trials
  7. A friend for Isabelle to play with walking distance from our home.
  8. A lovely walk in a snowy world.
  9. Patient clients who waited all day for their plowing without complaint.
  10. The knowledge of God's faithfulness in all circumstances.
  11. Laughing with Isabelle on the couch.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil 4:6

Thank you Lord for your abundant blessings.

For more blessings check out the gratitude community at a holy experience.


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1 comment:

  1. sounds like a terrifically stressful day. it can be so discouraging when we feel like we are trying to do our part, to follow the will of the Lord, and it's still all a mess. it is true though that there are lessons and blessings in all things. hope the next snow fall goes more smoothly for your new business.

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