Giving thanks

In the days since my last post (the one where I sort of whined about all the baby stuff all over my living room - {embarrassing}) we've been through a minor upheaval. Two days before Halloween we had a massive snowstorm which produced beautiful Christmas photos (yaay!) and also destroyed the electrical system and countless trees and homes in New England (very, very sad). For eight days we slept in our cold, dark house, whatever hotel room we could get, guest rooms of friends, and spent most of our days either in the truck or roaming the mall. On Sunday, we flew to Chicago. The power was still out, Tim had a conference and I was not about to take care of Mikey alone.

As you can imagine, the situation has caused some stress and short tempers (mostly mine). Constant moving, keeping track of baby and dog, spending all our time either in the truck or small hotel rooms, crowds, long lines, nowhere to do laundry or dishes, wrestling an increasingly active and opinionated baby, etc. I have a bad habit of getting caught up in how things 'should' be. And, when you get right down to it, I'm spoiled.

Not coincidentally, on November 1st my sweet sister posted a Facebook status titled '30 Days of Thankfulness' with a post every day naming something she is thankful for. Then another friend did the same. Then several more. And I realized that my loving God was reminding me of how much I have, and gently telling me to stop the complaining and give thanks instead. So I stopped and counted my many rich blessings. And then I felt shallow because my God blesses me with such extravagance and I still find reasons to complain.

It couldn't have come at a better time. In the midst of my ungratefulness my God knew I needed help and He sent it. One more thing to be thankful for.

{If I get home Wednesday and the power still isn't on, please refer me to this post when I've finished pitching my fit.}

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:N Michigan Ave,Chicago,United States