Thankfulness

I spoke at our annual Women’s function at church at the beginning of this month. I spoke on Manna and Christmas Delight and how Jesus really is both of those to and for us.

I was extremely crabby one morning as I was working on what I was going to speak about. I was trying to clean off the counters in the bathroom at it just seemed like things were dropping or tipping over. I hadn’t had my quota of coffee, everything seemed out of sync (no pun intended) and it was just a really blecky day.

You know when things aren’t going right even in the midst of the bleckiness of the mundane we are to give thanks to the Lord. So I started saying out loud “I am thankful for toothpaste. I am thankful for toilet paper.” Remember I said I was cleaning the bathroom…

I stopped in my tracks. I really am thankful for t.p. and toothpaste. I don’t think you really want or need me to go into great detail but think about how stinky and gross life would be without either. My mood immediately lifted.

Sometimes I think we over look being thankful for the seemingly small things in our lives, t.p., toothpaste, electricity, clean water when we turn on the tap, but if we were ever forced to be without these things just think of what an impact it would have on our lives.

Thankfulness doesn’t need to be an elaborate prayer it is something that can start as a small seed in our heart and grow from there. Without being to cliché I am trying to retrain myself to have an attitude of gratitude. Instead of dreading doing laundry I am thankful I have clothes, laundry detergent, and a machine or coins for the laundry mat. Instead of griping about dishes that need doing I need to be thankful I have a dishwasher.

That’s the easy part. The hard part is disciplining myself to catch the crabbiness before it gets away from me.

I am off to sweep my perpetually dirty floor…but I am reminding myself to be grateful I have a broom!