I have received quite a few unexpected gifts lately. Last week, in one interview I was given a jar of honey. In another interview, the author gave me a copy of her book. Thursday, I'm interviewing someone who breeds flying squirrels - that should be interesting if things continue to follow this trend. lol
The thing is, God gives me gifts every single day - it's just I am either too busy or too busy being negative to open them. About a month ago, my youngest son Brody and I were making our almost weekly pilgrimage to Hobby Lobby. If you are not familiar with Hobby Lobby - it is a giant store that stocks everything from very cool decor to silk flowers to jewelry making items to art supplies. The latter is usually why Brody and I go to Hobby Lobby - he needs a different charcoal or a gum eraser or titanium white paint or a verithin colored pencil in umber and ultramarine. Can you tell he's an artist?
Anyway, I always like to take a quick peek at their decorative stuff. They have lamps, baskets, pretty plates - all kinds of things - but the thing I love the most are their various plaques with sayings on them. Being a word nerd, they really appeal to me. Anyway, I found two that just struck me. The one was too big to hang anywhere in my house - it said, "It's never too late for happily ever after." The one I actually bought (with my 40% off coupon) said, "Happiness is choice."
God's been talking to me a lot lately about choices. Happiness or joy is one of them. I can either be a glass half-full or glass half-empty kind of gal. I want to be the kind of girl who chooses happiness.
The truth is I can drag myself out of bed and complain or dread all the things I have to do, OR I can plant my feet on the ground and wonder what new adventure awaits me. I know, you may be saying the latter is rather Pollyanna-ish, but the truth is my attitude isn't necessarily going to change what happens in my day, but it sure will change how I react to it.
It certainly will influence how much enjoyment I get out of my days.
The truth is each day is a gift from God. It is meant to be unwrapped and enjoyed. After all, we are not guaranteed tomorrow, only the here and now. I wonder how many times God is disappointed when we throw aside His gift He wrapped just for us. How many times He is saddened when we carelessly toss His gifts and blessings aside, not even opened, because we are busy or in a bad mood or have allowed things like bitterness, unforgiveness or anger to crowd out our joy and thankfulness - our delight in the everyday.
Today I subbed. To be completely honest, it was slightly boring. When you sub, you pass out assignments and then wait for kids to finish them. In fact, you do a lot of waiting - waiting for the kids to finish, waiting for the bell to ring, waiting for the new crop of faces to settle in their seats - well, you get the idea. On the plus side, everyone behaved; the other teachers were friendly; and I didn't get lost either going or leaving. All in all, a success.
Tonight I came home and made dinner and then walked the dog. It was nice to sit down and enjoy dinner with my family. My boys make me laugh - we act like goofballs at the dinner table and tell awful jokes (they are so cheesy!). Then I cleaned things up listening to my music - cleaning is so much more enjoyable when set to music. Then I clamped my earphones on and took the dog for a walk.
As I walked, I looked around me and realized how beautiful the day was - it was brisk but the sun was shining. It was my favorite kind of weather - just cool enough to need a light jacket. The sky was so blue and the clouds weren't fluffy but instead looked like wisps of chiffon thrown across the sky. They swirled white but also various shades of grey - dove and pearl with a tint of charcoal. Across this panorama, a hawk caught the wind and glided. His wings were outstretched as he rode the winds like a ship with a following wind. I watched him coast until he was out of sight - he never flapped his wings.
The beauty of this evening's walk was a gift. I'm glad I took the time to unwrap it and enjoy it. What if every day I found something to enjoy and delight over? How would life be different if I lived like that every single day? How would your life be different?
"Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His name." Psalms 103:1
~ Blessings, Bronte
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