I am fully convinced that my toddler has no idea that I’m totally envious of his 2-hour commitment to sleep daily at noon.  The birds, like   perfectly paired figure scatters, that swoop and circle in impeccable timing have no idea what it feels like to be able to only get your feet a few inches off the ground.  And how can we forget The Little Mermaid who sang “what would I give if I could live out of these waters” she wanted to walk, not swim. I would love to experience myself quietly submerged in the water without struggling to hold my breath…These are things that make me wonder, what does my life look like to someone living in a grass hut??  Would it invoke the same jealously in them as theses moments do in me?

The answer to that I’m fully convinced of is YES.  I would guess that most of us reading this, live in a home with floors and a roof, we drive a car even though it may feel more like a taxi, we have running water and toilets, and our closets are filled to overflowing (of course we all know you can never have too many shoes).   But most of the time these “luxuries” cause us to complain!!

I want to live a life of gratitude.  Every moment.  Not only occasionally when everything feels harmonic, that is not frequent enough.  I want to look around and not see the messes my kids have created for the hundredth time, but the fact that I have the two most amazing people on the planet making those messes.  (I am crying as I write this) I may pull a meal out of the oven that is far from top chef quality, but it’s nourishing food. My husband daily makes an incredible mess of his sink, he leaves his nasty shoes on the counter, (gasp!) but he has more positives than I have words to describe.  I don’t deserve him either!  (Crying again!  Sheesh!)

I frequently think of a program that I watched where a mother had to put her kids to bed for the night in the late afternoon because she had no more food to subdue their cries of hunger.  My kids have a shelf dedicated to snacks, and fresh fruit at their constant disposal! Anyway, I guess my point is this…Our lives, no matter how challenging are cush!  We complain a lot (even if its just on the inside) and I think that the things we complain about are the things most of this world would die to have. Seriously, I am so over grumbling when we really have no idea what it is like to live a hard life (I am fully aware that many have had huge hurdles in life) Please, please, please lets all start to get in the habit of appreciating all that we have and realize that most of the chaos is created by our excess anyway.  There are men fighting wars, and women living in slavery in this world we live in…They would be shocked and saddened to hear us complain of picking up our kids toys, doing dishes and piles of laundry. Lets be grateful, not just when it feels like a moment of calm, but every moment.  We have more to be grateful for than we can even comprehend!! 

Thank you God for dirty dishes, they have a tale to tell.  While others may go hungry, we’re eating very well.   With home and health and happiness I shouldn’t want to fuss, for by this stack of evidence God’s been good to us.