thanks

Thea Speaks-thankfulness

I started this post with a link to a friends blog.
Why?
Because it's the very thing I really needed to hear right about now.
What a day.
The weekend really led up to today I suppose.
We had a garage sale and it was a success. But the success was after many days of planning, prepping, praying...hmm, and I can't think of any other 'p' words to throw in there.
It was a full day, and I was so thankful we were able to share our driveway space with friends of ours- who also sold a bunch of their own stuff. I think it made the overall sale look fuller, and it was soo much more fun having them there to hang out with us all day. We walked away with a nice chunk of money from it, so thankful for God's provision through it.
But it was pretty tiring.
I didn't realize how much so until today. I crammed too much into one day. That's the truth. Today I thought I would 'catch up' on so many things- meal plans, grocery shopping (I did get these items done) cleaning, laundry...
I hardly felt like I really got ahead, or a start, on any of these to do items. And today Oliver was on strike for naps. And for good behavior. Sigh.
I love my little boy, but today I did not understand what was going on with him.
Jonah had a day off today, which was so much fun- if we had been able to have done something fun together! I feel like I ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off, trying to work at this and that and never getting it all done. Have you ever felt like that?
And with all this, Oliver was crying.
I came home after finally getting our groceries (the meal planning, couponing, and organizing of all this before I left for the store took me a good 2+ days) to a house with dirty floors, toys strewn out, laundry in the washer ready to be dried, and a crying little boy. I felt like I was spinning like a top on the ground. And my sweet husband held me and said- what is one thing you are happy about today? He was gently reminding me of what I had to be thankful for amidst all the craziness of the day.
After dinner, a bath, and tucking in a little boy to bed- and after listening to him cry it out before he fell asleep...I stopped to read this blog post from a friend.
How appropriate it was to be reminded of what I need to be thankful for. I say need because I really do need to be mindful of all that I have to be thankful for. So much. Everything really.
The dirty floors in our home that God provided for us. I have floors- for that I should give thanks.
The toys strewn all over the floor were another thing to be grateful for- so many friends and loved ones had generously given us those toys for our own little one. He has so many choices of things to play with!
And the laundry in the washer- it was clean. It may not have been in the dryer yet, but we had a place to clean our clothes, in fact we had clothes to even clean.
And my husband. How I love him. He can see farther than I can sometimes, past the present circumstances into what is truly important. How I need to learn this when I get all worked up like a mad woman.
And Oliver.
I don't know what had happened to make him so dramatic tonight, choosing to cry and whine when we told him no. How much I love this little boy, even if he acts ugly sometimes. I know it is not the first or the last time and I pray for wisdom throughout it all.
In the middle of crazy days like this I need to stop and give thanks for all that is around me. For the present life we live, for those that we live with, we see daily. What a blessing it is to have each other. At the end of the day, I don't care if my floors and clothes are dirty, I care about hugging my two men, kissing them, loving them.  But more importantly I have a God and Father that loves me sooo much more than I can love another. He knows what my steps will be in the day, He knows what I'll face and who I'll hear crying. Have I continued to give Him thanks for what He's given me? Have I surrendered the day to Him each moment, trusting Him to lead me and use me each hour?

Thank you Father for loving me, for providing meals, groceries, time to organize meal plans, a washer and dryer, a house to live in, beds for us to sleep in, a husband that loves and leads, a son that affectionately loves his mom and dad, a place we can close the door, turn off the lights, and find rest in. May I be mindful of how I need to 'turn off the lights' of this crazy world and just quietly find rest in You. Perhaps that is what You have been speaking to me all day long.