Not Burdened, but Blessed

Why is it that in this world it is constantly about what we don't have. Let's see, my dishwasher quit working today, the water heater quit a couple weeks back, the washer is always acting up and who knows what else could "die" around here. The truck is pushing 200,000 miles, and the carpet is starting to show that it is almost ten years old. The computer is always working on it's own time frame, which is downright slow... The TV set is the same one we got 9 years ago and although it works, it's not big and it's not a nice new, flat LCD screen. I could go on and on and on... But then, when I really look, it's not about all the stuff I don't have, or the stuff I just don't have the money to fix or just to go get "new"... It's about what I do have.

I have been blessed first and foremost with a family that is healthy, active, smart and funny. They keep me on my toes and they keep me smiling and laughing. I have a home over my head, that although mortgaged to the max, it is still our home. A home we built for ourselves. Each piece of tile and each shingle, we laid and set to hold this family that we have. I have an extended family that offers me support anytime I need it. I have friends that call to say hello. I have a job that pays well, and respects me and my life outside of work. I have running hot water (thanks to that new hot water heater), a furnace to keep my house warm in this incredibly cold Michigan winter, and enough food in the fridge to feed my family. I have Faith that even when all the things I do have "quit" working, usually all at the same time - or at least in groups of three, that God will provide me with either the money to fix it, or the patience to just do the darn dishes by hand, or as Jessi would say, "the old-fashioned way."

It's not that I don't have enough time to do everything that needs to be done, it's the fact that I am healthy and able to do all that I have put on my to do list, even if it takes a 26 hour day. That I have the chance to be a mom, a wife, and work a full-time job, and have the desire to still do my own "hobby" and make some extra doing what I like. It's not that I don't have time to write that children's book, it's the fact that I have the desire to do it; God will provide the time when the time is right. It's not about having to run kids to all the extra's that they are involved in; it's the fact that they are capable of doing so much. It's not about nitpicking about always being the one to do the dishes and the laundry, it's the fact that God gave me children and a husband to look after. I shouldn't be sorry I have chores to do, but be blessed that I have a family to do them for.

And on days like today, when that cold I've been fighting piles on top of lovely lady monthly, and the chores that pile up and the work that just has to be done, I really just need to pause and take that timeout (please God, send me to my room tonight)... I need to just close my eyes, breathe that deep breath, and know that I am blessed. Life is still in me and all around me, and that I am not burdened with all the "things" that it feels like get dumped on my shoulder, rather I am blessed with the ability to step up to the plate and swing away, because this is my life and rather than sit the bench, I have been blessed with the ability to play the game.