steadfast

I didn’t know I was about to break a bone.

I’m already blushing as I start the story. You see, my sweet guy was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was dressed and ready for the day.

I walked by and he smiled.

I rushed him. Like a linebacker, minus the gear.

It was meant to be playful, (please tell me I’m not the only one who still acts silly with her guy) but when I leaped in the air toward him he grinned and did a sideways move. I flew past him like superwoman (a really bad version) and crunched into the hardwood floor just on the other side of the bed.

I broke my collar bone in half.

collar boneMy shoulder took most of the impact and it was sorta-in and sorta-out of where it was supposed to be.
I was in serious pain, but all I could think of as Richard cradled me and helped me to the car was, “What in the world am I going to tell them?”

Hey hospital admission person, here’s my insurance card and by the way I’m nearly 50 and I was tackling my husband on the bed and missed.

It took weeks for my collarbone to heal and months for my shoulder to fully recover. I slept in that old, brown chair for weeks. I wrote every day with one hand on the keyboard.

You’d think that my children would have been sympathetic, but they had a heyday with it.  They delighted in telling the story to anyone would listen.

Did you hear about that time my mom and dad were frolicking and mom fell off the bed?

Um, thanks guys.

What does any of this have to do with gratitude?

Sometimes we find ourselves in places we didn’t think we’d be, and it’s hard. Cancer took Richard and I to that place this last year when he was diagnosed, and a couple months ago when he had complications from the surgery.

We are in the heat of it right now with parents that are struggling with advanced stages of dementia and we have no answers.

To be honest, when things get hard we can get frustrated. Maybe a little irritated. Grumpy.

Or maybe that’s just me.

I don’t ever want to be trite and say that we shouldn’t feel a certain way. I’m so thankful that God created us with emotions that allow us to express how we feel. I just don’t want to stay stuck in a negative place too long.

[bctt tweet=”The love of God never ceases. His mercies are without end. They start new every morning. #livingfreetogether” username=”suzanneeller”]

In Lamentations 3, the writer (most theologians believe it was Jeremiah) is in that negative place. He lists a long list of complaints. Suddenly, in the midst of his conversation, his words take a drastic turn.

God’s love never ceases.

His mercies are without end; they start new every morning.

God is faithful.

We don’t know what caused him to have a change of heart.

Maybe he was looking at a gorgeous sky. Perhaps he took in a  breath and realized how precious it was to be alive.

Maybe he wasn’t feeling it all, but he intentionally took a turn toward gratitude.

road

Ingratitude has the power to become deeply ingrained.

It makes our loved ones tiptoe around us, trying to figure how to make us happy when it’s not their job. It makes us hyper focused on what is wrong — so much so that we become blind to the good that is right under our nose.

[bctt tweet=”Ingratitude has the power to lead us down a road we were never intended to travel. #livingfreetogether #ComeWithMe” username=”suzanneeller”]

Let’s be real about the challenges, but leave room for gratitude.

Hear me, I’ve been there. Recently.  ♥

But we aren’t without help in those times. When we open our heart to intentional gratitude it changes the course of our words.

It puts us on a new path in our thoughts. It gently opens the door for peace.

The situation may linger, but we are different.

Let’s do that together right now.

Walk intentionally into gratitude. Tell someone thank you. Let’s see what God can do with that beautiful act of faith.

Suzie

comewithmeRelated resource:

Come With Me is for the women who desires that her faith impact every part of her life. It’s what happens when Jesus whispers, “Come with me,” and we say yes, no matter where he leads, no matter what he asks.