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Thursday, November 22, 2007

2-4-6-8... Who (sic) Do We Appreciate?

I missed a weekly whimsy again. Gaah, how the world must have stopped dead on its axis, snort. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all the American readers out there.
Several years ago I wrote an article for a magazine about counting one's blessings, how important it is to have a grateful outlook. I really should bring out my copy of that article and peruse it. I wrote a whole bunch of inspirational blather for a time mostly because they sold. Unfortunately, my portfolio is in storage while we're waiting to move into our own place. Otherwise, it would benefit me to read through everything again.
Lately, I've been teetering between complacency and restlessness, but I would really much rather be truly contented. I have so much to be grateful for and yet I tend to focus on what I don't have. In my 365 Things to Do in 2007, one of the items was "to start and end the day with a prayer of thanks". So far, it has yet to become a habit. Usually, I open my eyes, upset that I couldn't sleep much longer or grousing about the quality of sleep I just had (ever tried sleeping in six inches of space having been sandwiched by two extreme sleepers - Husband, in the sense that he's the heavy and marathon type and Marguerite, in the sense that she's the acrobatic and traveling type), and then I mentally map out my day, overwhelmed by the number of things I have to do, a lot of which I wouldn't be able to accomplish that day anyway. Usually, I'm in the middle of brushing my teeth or having morning tea before I remember with a jolt to say, "Thank you, Lord." In the evenings, I usually fall asleep in sharp little staccato spells because while I'm dead beat and way past ready to call it a day, Marguerite is still pacing up and down the bed, all wide-eyed and still hunting down mischief.
How hard is it to realize that behind each subject of complaint is a wealth of things to be thankful for? I woke up when I could have just died in my sleep (our culture believes in bangungot and I have already experienced something akin to this. Believe me, after that episode there was no more doubting the power of Jesus' name); there's a new day, another chance to accomplish whatever task I had lined up; Husband got home safe; Marguerite is healthy, active, and thriving...
Anyway, as I wrote in the aforementioned article, so I write again, it's really all in the attitude.

1 comments:

maf said...

you know,i can relate so much...
as i have shared with you, the corporate world is really an everyday battlefield. at the end of the day, i really thank God for the grace and strength He bestows upon me. i just feel so blessed to have a supportive and happy family and a church where i can just be myself and at the same time,grow in the Lord with our brethren.
there's nothing like being a child of God. i wouldn't trade such for anything else! :=)