Being Thankful . . .

Have you ever spent a single day of your life not being able to take a shower, wash dishes or clothes, or even go to the bathroom or brush your teeth?

We are so there.

Our sewer is messed up. REALLY messed up.

I am looking at this and saying, Okay God, what are you trying to teach me THIS week . . . then it hit me. THANKFULNESS. I have been so set on the things that I DON'T have lately that I forgot to take a step back and remember the things I DO have.

For example, Ronnie's company went to three day work weeks. He was offered a position that will give him a larger salary during this time. That, and the partial unemployment check he will be getting, puts us back where we need to be in order to pay our bills and stay on track. THEN, the ENTIRE plant went to a two week furlow (temp layoff) EXCEPT his section and one other. If that's not God, I don't know what it.

And yet, instead of being thankful for what God has granted us, I have been whiney about "oh, we don't have a second car" or "oh we only have one bathroom" or something else silly and insignificant.

So now, instead of ONE bathroom, we have NO bathroom.

God is chastizing me . . . And you know what? I'm THANKFUL for it. See out of this, I have learned a very valuable lesson. Life is not about the HAVE-NOT's. It's about seeing the little things God gives us on a daily basis, and counting those blessings. It's about saying thank you every once in a while for that little butterfly or that shooting star . . .

I am looking at what we're going through right now, with the job situation and the sewar situation, and seeing it in a whole new light. Now, I am THANKFUL because Ronnie and I are going through this TOGETHER - as a team. I have the man I love beside me, loving me and supporting me through it all. I have him to hold on to in the midst of a nervous breakdown (of which I have had at lest three this week). I am also thankful because we have God on our side. And like my husband, I have Him to lean on and talk to.

So, as I stare at the unflushable toilet today and pack our bags to stay at my mother's until we have a usable bathroom, I am still THANKFUL.