One day, the father of a very wealthy family took their son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'
'It was great, Dad.'
'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.
'Oh yeah,' said the son.
'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip' asked the father.
The son answered:
'I saw that we have one dog and they had the four.'
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end..
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs..
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing??
Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.
Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your family and friends!
Wow! Isn't that amazing? Of course if you've read anything about my testimony, than you know why this speaks to me. And if you know about my current situation, than you might also know why this touches me.
I am so thankful. This is one of the key verses of my life.
Philippians 4:6-9 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
You see, I have learned through my experiences to be thankful for everything. Now granted, I have not had a terminally ill child, I have not lost a child that had been living here on this earth. I did lose 3 babies in utero though and I have hope to see them in heaven one day. But I do pray that because of my faith, I will be able to be thankful in ALL circumstances.
Does that mean that I'm thankful that the disc in my back in torn? No, but I am thankful for all that has happened because of this. I'm thankful for the time I've had to rest and to spend with the Lord. I'm thankful for the time I've had to just talk with my husband and my friends. It's funny how we MAKE TIME for things when we're forced to do so. I've never had so much time to spend chatting with my friends, my family...whether it's in person, on the phone or even on Facebook. It's been fun.
Now, there are things that I'm having a hard time with like accepting all this help. I can't tell you how hard it is to sit here while my friends clean my house or do my laundry. It's hard enough receiving a meal from someone, but cleaning...yikes! It's just not what I'm cut out to do. Although I hate cleaning and I joke that if I could afford it, I would hire someone to clean for me. But it's a whole different story to have your friends clean your house. They have their own homes to care for and that's what makes it even more difficult. My mother-in-law needs shoulder surgery and yet she's been over here scrubbing my floors! By the way, Mary, if you're reading this, you're in trouble for doing that! :) Today I had 2 people here to pick up Hailey and bring her to school. What a problem to have! And I had yet a 3rd friend here that was helping get the kids off to school, make me lunch, doing my laundry, and giving me a ride to and from the doctor. What a blessing! I can't believe it. The love that keeps pouring out on us is amazing! I can't even put into words what this is like. THIS my friends is the Body of Christ at work. We are called to be the hands and feet. I can't wait until I can be well enough to get back on my feet and bless someone else. The thing is that's a little funny about this is that I actually am the one who is usually doing the organizing of this for everyone else. It's my gift. I love to do this. I love to bring meals to people and help out when I can. It feels so good to just do a simple thing for someone in need.
Can I ask you this? Have you ever had the chance to be a blessing? How many times have you had the chance to help someone and said "let me know if you need anything?" Or "call me if you need any help?". People...hear me...they are not going to call you! Well, most people won't call. I sure won't! I hate admitting that I need help. And what I've learned is that most people don't like to "ask" for help. So, now what I do is say...I'm making you dinner, would Monday be a good night to drop it off? Or I say, I'm coming over to make you dinner tonight, is that ok? And then while I'm there, I just tidy up or do something without asking. Now I'm not telling you to cross a line if someone really doesn't need or want the help, but if you're comfortable and have the relationship there, then JUST DO IT! :)
Obviously we have had our fair share of stuff happen to us over the past couple of years. But even in the midst of our own "crisis" I still serve. The reason for this is that the best thing to do when you're in a crisis is to get out of your own muck, get the focus off of yourself, and focus on someone else. I can truly speak from experience about this. It may seem tough but it will help. I'm not saying that you should ignore your problems, but when all you think about is your own problems they become magnified and they will consume you. Getting the focus off yourself and helping someone else, can relieve some of that pressure. And usually it's fun!
Well, that's just my two cents. :) Take them and do with them as you please. It's all about perspective. Which lens do you choose to pick up and look through today? Which view will you take? We really do have a choice. Are you thankful for everything going on in your life today? Ask God to help you through your situation. Ask God to show you who he wants you to help today? Maybe it's a stranger. Maybe it's a family member having a hard time. Whomever it is, I pray that God will show you. :)
Bless you all! Have a wonderful and safe weekend. Hug your children, love your spouse, be kind to all you come in contact with. Share with me your thoughts.
Christine