In our theme of paying of our debts, I realized that we need to pay off the debt of learning how to deal with our kids at their most difficult. Maybe they’re not more difficult kids than other people’s kids. Maybe we’re just more difficult parents.
And even if they’re the most difficult kids in the world, we love that we have them. Our life is so interesting and fun because they’re here. They are absolutely hilarious.
My son this morning has collected all of his maps together that we got for free, seemingly inspired by our current entrepreneurial activity, and has asked me to help him set up a stand outside on the street to sell maps. He has been trying to sell these maps to the contractors working out back for the last week, alternating between $25 and $50 asking prices, while his older sister yells “Don’t buy those maps, he got them for free!”
Our 3 year old asks some amazing questions: “Mommy, are there monsters in heaven? Are there toys in heaven? Can I see? Can I see it when we go to there when we die? Mommy what is the amount of heaven?” When she was 2, she told me she was going to “toot me outside” (cook) and was going to eat me up. She’s an insane little munchkin who adds so much to our life.
I’m so grateful that we have these kids. If I step back out of the hard pains in the moments, I can see that everything about this life we have is amazing.
Can I at the same time that I am striving for something new also truly appreciate my life and operate from a place of peace and gratitude, instead of pushing myself, and beating myself up when I’m tired?
Can I be truly grateful and operate from a place of desire and abundance?
I don’t want to be someone who is annoyingly positive all the time. I want to acknowledge that things are sometimes not ideal, or hard, or crazy, and help others to see the opportunities in all of our sufferings, and to see that sometimes even our sufferings are truly awesome.
Everyone always talks about how the hardest times were their favorite times. When I was having health problems for a bit over a year, my wife and I grew closer than ever before. My prayer life deepened. I grew a lot. I am truly grateful, now, that I had to go through that.
Can I have that gratitude in the moment? When it’s hard to see how this is good right now?
It’s a beautiful American tradition to call out a day every year where we specifically give thanks to God for our lives and every blessing He’s given us.
I want to see the blessings that are there all the time, even when they feel like a headache at the time. To see the good and be grateful for my cold or my screaming complaining kids.
Can I live from a sincere place of gratitude?
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