A Beautiful Reminder

Today as Cole and I were walking home from school we were talking about our days. Each day, at the end of the day I often ask him what the best and worst parts of his day were. Today he wasn't quite sure on either of his answers, but he was very quick to share about the craft he made at school today - a turkey made out of pine cones. I asked him why he made a turkey. What was the significance of it? He responded by saying "because we're thankful".

How right he is. We then listed all the things that we were thankful for...for mommy's and daddy's, Cole and Kara, friends to play with, a good church to go to, playing outside, slurpees, and the list goes on. It got me thinking. How often do I give thanks for all that God has provided me with? Once a year when Thanksgiving rolls around?

As I was catching up on some of my friends blogs, I came across Sabrina's and what she wrote was a beautiful reminder. I find that I do not spend enough time celebrating and being thankful for all that God has provided for me. I am too quick to go to Him when something is wrong. "God why aren't you taking my headaches away? Why am I feeling so stressed? Why won't the tears stop? Why can I not hear your voice when you speak? How dare you put this on me? Can't you see I can't take this anymore?" So why is it so easy to be mad at God? It is when I am mad that my confidence and stubborness overrule that I yell and kick and scream. I throw a temper tantrum. I think Sabrina said it nicely. "Life isn't supposed to be fair. If it were fair, then we would all be forced to pay for the penalty of our own sins". She's right. Life isn't supposed to be fair!

So where do I go from here? Well, I need to stop wallowing in the unfairness of life. I need to become aware and conscious of the beauty and the grace that God so freely gives me. I need to make lists on a regular basis, like the one I made of Cole of things that I am thankful for, for the blessings God has poured over me and for the grace that God gives that is so evident in my life. Thanks Sabrina for stirring up my heart a little, for helping me to take the focus off of myself. My hope and prayer for the weeks and months ahead is that I might be able to spend time in praise and thanksgiving more often during the course of my day; that I might be mindful of God's presence in that moment.