I Love My Life

Tears cascaded down my cheeks as I stood in the kitchen chopping onions for our dinner. However, the tears were not caused by the onions. They were tears being shed after a long, no-good, very bad day. A day that had me chasing my wild, 3 year old and cleaning up messes that involved pee, gasoline, and marker. A day spent refereeing countless battles and disagreements. A day where the tasks never seemed to end. A day that looked like I accomplished nothing.

And then I spotted it. A list my 1st grader had written weeks ago and still hung on my fridge.




A varied list. A simplistic view of life through her eyes. The last four words grip me every time.

"I love my life"

And I'm challenged. Do I love my life? The life of motherhood was a longtime dream and just seconds ago I found myself complaining and pitying myself for a hard day. How quickly my blessings can be overshadowed by a selfish, bad attitude.

When was the last time I looked at life through the lens of a child? Do I notice the simplistic beauty of God's creation? Do I let my hobbies and the work of my hands bring me true joy? When will I let the pure child-like perspective permeate my thoughts instead of my negative and selfish outlook?




For instance, when I look at this picture do I see weeds or do I see an endless array of floral beauty? From the handfuls of flowers I have been receiving lately, it's obvious my children see it as an endless array of floral beauty and I am challenged to see through their lens.

I want to see beauty like they do. I want to see life like they do. Lord, change my attitude and perspective. Let's make today a beautiful day by beginning it with a beautiful perspective!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Foggy Twists and Turns

Image
 Earlier this week our area was blanketed in a thick fog as I drove my daughter to school. Fog is such a weird sensation! It is difficult to see long-distance, but things can suddenly become clear as you get closer. Everything looks shadowy and our eyes take extra effort to focus on what is in front of us. Only the sun or light can bring clarity to our surroundings. I was reminded that much of life can feel like a fog. We cannot see the future or the end result. Many times we find ourselves blindly clamoring through life, seeking direction, and really only having enough faith to put one step in front of the other. Fog can feel frustrating. We so desperately want to see clearly but have no ability of our own to make the fog disappear. However, the light of the "Son's" rays can push that fog out of the way and bring much-needed clarity.  I was also recently struck by this odd sidewalk that I regularly walk on during my daughter's music lesson. My personality tendencies
Read more

The Idol of Comfort

Image
If you're reading this blog in the state of Pennsylvania, you'll know that we had quite the heat wave this week. It has felt more like the throes of July than our typical autumn September days! Of course, it just so happened that with the week's hot forecast fresh on my mind, I kept waking up Monday night due to an unusual sound coming from our air conditioner...and our house felt hot! Sure enough, by late afternoon on Tuesday, our air conditioner was running constantly and unable to keep the house cool. After a call to our HVAC repairman, we were relieved they could come out Wednesday afternoon. It was very humid Wednesday morning and our thermostat was already climbing to 79* at 8 am, but to our surprise, our "hero" arrived early! A simple part was replaced and life in the heat felt bearable again! Sadly, this experience was yet another humbling reminder that "comfort" is just as much of an idol for me as "control" is. Why is it that feeling
Read more

Deep Cleaning: My Pantry and My Marriage

Image
 A new year...the dead of winter...what better way to spend the day than tackling projects that have been put on the back burner for far too long! A few weeks ago I knew I needed to address my kitchen pantry. I had caught my husband in there with a measuring tape, who was dreaming up an idea to add more shelving and improve its functionality. To be honest with you, my pantry is nothing to brag about. It's barely a walk-in closet, perhaps more accurately called a step-in closet! But deep down inside, I knew it didn't need a complete overhaul; it simply needed to be organized! There were times I couldn't find an ingredient I needed, so I simply bought more. Then a few days later, I would find it and the duplicates would continue to grow. I feel vulnerable sharing these photos, but I suppose most people can enjoy a good before and after transformation! Yep, complete chaos that kept the door from being shut at times! I admit I felt very overwhelmed I didn't know where to st
Read more