Monday, December 7, 2009

Thankfulness

Today I read a passage in Ephesians that discussed doing things out of love rather than following a list of rules. Too often I look at life as rules of what I should or should not do, or even more often as a balancing act - what is fair. If we spend 3 hours with Michael's family on a holiday we need to spend an equal amount of time with my family. If I am changing diapers and doing Jameson's laundry how much is Michael helping. It is so easy to look at life in this transactional way. Yet, that is no way to live.

God loves me. He has blessed me with so much, so many things I take for granted every day. I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful baby boy. I have a great house and yard, and I get to stay at home to raise my son. We have plenty of diapers that I don't have to wash every day! We have a diaper pail to put them in. We have a car seat and stroller, I have lots of clothes and shoes, we have a TV and cable. God has blessed us with all of these things, and certainly not because I deserve them! I am guilty of lying, gossiping, judging others, being selfish...the list goes on and on. If God gave me what I deserved what a sorry place I would be in. But no, He gives to me out of love. He pours out these blessings on me because He loves me. He gives me so much better than I could ever earn or deserve.

If this is the way God loves me and treats me, shouldn't I then turn and treat others around me with the same outpouring of love? Instead of worrying about how much Michael does that 'counts' on my list, shouldn't I instead be grateful of the things I have an opportunity to do to help him out? Shouldn't I be glad that I can allow him to spend time with his family on a holiday? Shouldn't I rejoice in the fact that I can change some diapers to take that task off of his plate? Shouldn't I be glad when I can get housework done so he comes home to a clean and sparkling house, instead of focusing on what I did and what he didn't do? Isn't that living in love, as Christ taught us to do?

This gives me a lot to think about. A whole new focus on my daily routines and tasks. And I'm excited about it!!!!

1 comment:

  1. Oh Mandy....this is such a beautiful post! It reminds me of the exercise we did at Last Wednesday (in Nov). Brian had us say out loud "If I never have another......, it is more than enough & I am thankful!"

    In your example, "If Michael never changes another diaper, or folds another towel, it's more than enough, I am thankful!"

    You are inspiring!! I love you!!

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