FINDING THE BLESSING FROM THE MESS

This morning I woke up after only 5 hours of sleep. 5 very restless hours. I am exhausted. Dark circles and bags under my eyes, body sore, I feel like I could fall asleep and sleep for days. Yet I make my way through the house to begin my day. My bedroom has a large pile of dirty clothes that need to be washed sitting on the floor and a large pile of clean clothes on the dresser that I need to fold and put away. I walk into the kitchen and see a sink full of dirty dishes and a dishwasher full of more dirty dishes. I go to start the dishwasher, thinking I'll tackle the sink later, yet I find that I am out of dish soap. I look at my kitchen. Cups everywhere, a gallon of sweet tea left out of the icebox, crumbs on the table and a trashcan so full the lid is hanging off. I groan. My house was spotless just 2 days ago! Then I walk through the dining room and see 2 bags sitting there from our Independence Day celebrations. I know those bags hold many items that need to be washed and put away. Then I enter the living room. This room isn't too bad. Mostly it just needs to be dusted and vacuumed. But I think of all this that needs to be done and I think of how insanely tired I am. I begin to have feelings of anger, sadness, I am not really sure what you'd call these feelings. But they are not joyful, grateful feelings.

Then I feel God prick my heart. He reminded me of my yesterday. Of getting to sleep in with my husband by my side. Of having a day with my grandparents, parents, siblings and their crews, my husband and my kids. Of hearing the laughter and splashes of my kids and nieces and nephews swimming. Of eating my favorite summer foods, fried green tomatoes, watermelon, and homemade ice cream. Of coming home for an afternoon nap before our evening events started. Of watching fireworks with friends. Of watching my 4 teenagers sit on a blanket on the grass talking and laughing. My heart goes from bitterness of these messes and my tired eyes to full of the great blessings He has given me.

Those piles of dirty clothes, that sink full of dishes and bags of things to be put away are all reminders that our family had a great holiday. That we were blessed. Sometimes we need to step back from the mess and see the blessing. A sink full of dishes is a reminder that we have been blessed with food. Think of all those who are starving, not hungry but literally starving. Those wet towels and bathing suits are reminders of fun and laughter. The late night is a reminder that we celebrated with family and friends. It is hard to grumble and complain when we are busy counting our blessings.

Today I challenge you to step away from the mess and look at it. Really look at it. What blessing is that mess showing you?