#7 Enjoy without complaint.
I’m not sure if I have more difficulty with the enjoying part or the not complaining part, but it seems I rarely balance this efficiently.
Especially when there is fear and chaos in our families it is a challenge to remember to enjoy all the good that is ours every day: sunrise, morning routines, daily responsibilities, food choices, family interactions, work interactions, quiet times, busy times, bedtime all interspersed with a flower, a breeze, a scent, a laugh, a shared tear, a hug, a kind word given, a kind word received, options, prayer, Scripture, a goal progressing, a mistake corrected, a wrong addressed. Some days I feel it is all too much, but when I look closer there is always something good to choose, to do, or to enjoy.
But I fight that bad habit of declaring things “not good enough”. I cared for an older family member who had the worst habit in this area. If she had been on a trip and I asked how it was, the answer was always, “Fine, but…” Same thing for outings and dining out and family visits. It got so bad she actually told her long-time girlfriends to not visit her because she was mad they had a better life than she…and believe me, they did not! But it gave me an effective tutorial in how this “not good enough” thing turns out!
So, for today at least, I will look for the good things, the funny things, the joyous things and I will not pick them apart until I suck all the joy out. At least for today I will find 10 things or 50 things or 100 things that are a blessing in my world. I might even thank God for something that seems pretty icky, because I know God is not capricious or mean or uncaring…not ever--so I can trust that the icky thing is not without purpose and give thanks God already is in charge of how it will all work in my life.
Do everything without grumbling and arguing. Philippians 2:14 (CEB)
I’m not sure if I have more difficulty with the enjoying part or the not complaining part, but it seems I rarely balance this efficiently.
Especially when there is fear and chaos in our families it is a challenge to remember to enjoy all the good that is ours every day: sunrise, morning routines, daily responsibilities, food choices, family interactions, work interactions, quiet times, busy times, bedtime all interspersed with a flower, a breeze, a scent, a laugh, a shared tear, a hug, a kind word given, a kind word received, options, prayer, Scripture, a goal progressing, a mistake corrected, a wrong addressed. Some days I feel it is all too much, but when I look closer there is always something good to choose, to do, or to enjoy.
But I fight that bad habit of declaring things “not good enough”. I cared for an older family member who had the worst habit in this area. If she had been on a trip and I asked how it was, the answer was always, “Fine, but…” Same thing for outings and dining out and family visits. It got so bad she actually told her long-time girlfriends to not visit her because she was mad they had a better life than she…and believe me, they did not! But it gave me an effective tutorial in how this “not good enough” thing turns out!
So, for today at least, I will look for the good things, the funny things, the joyous things and I will not pick them apart until I suck all the joy out. At least for today I will find 10 things or 50 things or 100 things that are a blessing in my world. I might even thank God for something that seems pretty icky, because I know God is not capricious or mean or uncaring…not ever--so I can trust that the icky thing is not without purpose and give thanks God already is in charge of how it will all work in my life.
Do everything without grumbling and arguing. Philippians 2:14 (CEB)
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