I’m not even out of bed before the breakfast demands start. I half roll, half slide out of my resting spot and before my feet hit the floor, I smell something musty and I’m pretty sure it’s the laundry that’s overtaken every bedroom in the house, which doesn’t make sense because I was all caught up last week month.
I shuffle my way to the kitchen and fumble around to make my morning coffee, but where our coffee mugs should resemble Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard, so I rummage through our overloaded encrusted kitchen sink for the cleanest of the dirty mugs.
On my way back to the coffee pot I step in mystery goo that now creates a sort of ripping sound with every other step I take.
I step-rip-step-rip around, filling cereal bowls and pouring juice into sippy cups, and I notice the clock says 7:35 am.
I take a deep breath and sigh. Is this it? Is this what I was destined to be? A glorified housemaid? And not a very good one at that?
I know this is where I’m supposed to pull out a Bible scripture about “counting it all joy” or “trust in the Lord”, but the truth is, I’m still a glorified housemaid. And I’m still not a very good one.
That’s when the shameful thought surfaces, I don’t want to be a mother anymore. I hate that I’ve sacrificed all my dreams to be a mother. I sink under guilt; what Jesus-loving mother thinks such things? Jesus said I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. Well, spoiler alert, this isn’t an abundant life.
So, how do I find abundant life in the mess? In the mundane? In life I didn’t plan?
I’ve read several self-help books lately; all trying to encourage people to find that abundant and wealthy life. The more books I read the more I find one common thread throughout all of them. Gratitude.
Brené Brown in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, says,
“I always thought that joyful people were grateful people. I mean, why wouldn’t they be? They have all of that goodness to be grateful for. But after collecting stories…Without exception, every person I interviewed who described living a joyful life,…actively practiced gratitude and attributed their joyfulness to their gratitude practice”.
Wallace Wattles in his book, The Science of Getting Rich, dedicates an entire chapter to the practice of gratitude. He writes,
“Many people who order their lives rightly in all other ways are kept in poverty by their lack of gratitude. Having received one gift from God, they cut the wires which connect them with Him by failing to make acknowledgment”.
Melody Beattie in, The New Codependancy, says,
“Things don’t make us happy. But some things are also gifts. When we’re in the Codependent Zone, we don’t enjoy the gifts we’re given. We’ll sit and obsess about what we don’t have and not appreciate what we have”.
Standing on a hill facing a mob of hungry people, “Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks…” Then he fed those 5000 people {John 6:11}.
Standing outside the tomb of his best friend, “Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me’. Then he raised Lazarus from his death {John 11:38-44}.
There it is. All the things my heart desires:
Joy.
Greatness.
Wealth.
Abundant life.
They all come in the wake of the wave of gratitude. The life I want, desire is the direct result of a lifestyle of thankfulness.
Brené says that it’s not an ‘attitude of gratitude’, but the practice of gratitude, because I can have an attitude of yoga, but unless I practice yoga, I’ll never see the results it brings.
So, how does one practice gratitude? Write sappy posts on Facebook about being thankful for my perfect husband? Or post 1 million pictures of my “little blessings”? That’s a start, I guess. Brené continues with, “keeping gratitude journals, doing daily gratitude meditations or prayers, creating gratitude art, and even stopping during their stressful days to actually say these words out loud: “I am grateful for …”
So, will you join me?
Let’s hope for a better tomorrow, but give thanks for today. Let’s dream big, but standing in the messy middle of right now, let’s appreciate the gifts we have. Let’s stay connected to the one who gives abundant life.
Let’s practice gratitude, and watch our lives become abundant.
{Use the hashtag #practicegratitude, so we can celebrate each other’s journey to abundant life}
In this moment. Right now. I am thankful and grateful for you.
I’m sure you could have guessed that one though.
Ditto. In the non-weird Ghost way. xoxo
I really needed this today – week – month. Thank you for a great post <3
I’m so glad! Thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂
Ah, my love, yes. Gratitude is an active experience. I used to be such a hard core, didn’t get it, give me a break you gratitude Stepford-Junkies go away! Now I get it, though, and practice it… always one of the first assignments in my life coaching work. Thank you, also, for not portraying your home as perfect. Somehow I had you pegged as a perfect, smiling every child in perfect matching outfits and the decor is all THIS year House Beautiful kind of home. Sometimes its nice to not be completely accurate! 🙂
Ha! Stepford-junkies!!! I am so very, very far from having a perfect home. I’m for the first time figuring out that stuff needs to go on the wall to make it look nice. :/
Thank you for reminding me I need to practice gratitude more and not to have an attitude with it like I do with exercise! Good thing I have a gazillion journals laying around waiting for the pen to meet the paper! It is easy to remember to be grateful when things are going smoothly or your way. It is harder to do it in the middle of the mess, where it is needed the most and probably the most meaningful.
You’re so right! It’s never easy being grateful when life isn’t going according to plan.
Found this post/your website through SITS. Ab-so-lutely love this post! Gratitude is definitely something I practice and am trying to incorporate it into my life more and more. Like….right now, I hear the birds chirping this wonderful Saturday morning. The fan is softly blowing cooler air and both my guys are sleeping peacefully. It’s bliss right now (the crazy will start later), so for now I’m grateful to experience these things and be sitting here reading blogs peacefully 🙂
You moment of quiet is definitely something to be grateful for (and the crazy later, too. hehe)! Thank you so much for stopping by.
I am SOOO glad I found you! Kinda weird… I was browsing Facebook, and SITS posted a comment about cereal, and I saw that you and I liked the same kind, so I click on your name to see what your blog is… turns out, you’re from St. Louis!? I’m an hour south of you, in Farmington. 🙂 I love your blog, I love this post, and now I love that I’m following you! So happy to have made the connection! XOXO!
Isn’t it a small world? And isn’t amazing how social media makes it even smaller? I’m so glad you stopped by and we made a connection. 🙂
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