On my way to swim this morning, I passed a church with this sign.
Not the “actual” sign, but you get the idea
Being on only my first cup of coffee, it took me a minute to grasp what the sign meant.
Just that morning I felt hassled by having to drop off something at school my daughter forgot. This was after I overslept and got annoyed with my son for dripping butter all over the leather couch. I’ve had a few tough, headache-producing cases at work this week and sometimes I feel completely ineffective at everything I do.
Yet, what I realized after digesting the words on the church sign, is that all of the important things are in place in my life and I rarely stop to just revel in how grateful I really am.
I thought to myself that right now someone is:
- Praying that their child overcomes a life threatening illness, while my kids are healthy and I forget what a blessing this is.
- Praying that they will walk/run again after an injury, while I am training every day and have no clue how to not be able to move my body the way that I want to.
- Praying that they can afford a place to live for their family, while I have a home and have never had to worry about where I am going to sleep at night.
- Praying that they will get that job so they can pay the bills, while I am not worrying about having enough money this month and have never known what it is like to be truly hungry.
- Praying that their marriage/relationship will not disintegrate, while I have been married almost 19 years and am hopeful for at least 19 more.
- Praying that a family member will live a bit longer or get over a grudge or overcome their addiction, while my parents and brother are still healthy, active and part of my life.
And, the list goes on.
On the flip side, I am sure there are things I am hoping for that other people take for granted.
On this day, right now, I hope we can all remember and acknowledge the many gifts and blessings that we’ve got.
SUAR