Matthew and I got new phones this year… and ended up switching over to
the dark side and getting iPhones. It
has been fun learning the new phone and taking random pictures with it as I try
out the different functions of the camera.
So even though we had a lot of crazy things happen lately… I have been
able to find the joy in the small things as well.
If I wanted, I could focus on all the bad things that have happened in
our life lately… or at least focus on the negatives of the situation. For example, when the instant water heater
blew and started smoking… I could have been frustrated over losing out on
having instant hot water and an extra expense we are going to pay to have it replaced.
Or I could focus on the blessing that we were home when it happened, we were
close enough to smell the smoke and quickly unplug it, so the house did not
burn down.
A couple days later when I heard running water and went to investigate
the cause only to find the garage flooding with water, I could focus on the frustration
of having a pipe burst. The pipe is in
the wall of the garage behind all the cabinets (impossible for us to get to). Or I could focus on the blessing that we were
able to find the shut off valve for the direct line, so we didn’t have to lose
water to the entire house. The blessing
that not only were we home, but I heard the water and didn’t give up on the gut
feeling that something was wrong so we were able to get it resolved quickly so it
wasn’t worse than it could have been.
A few days later, when laying in bed and heard a boom and the power went out, I could have focused on the fact that we lost power and the frustrations that go with no power in the winter or I could focus on the blessing that we had a portable tank so Matthew could still use his oxygen and I had a portable charger to be able to use my CPAP for a few hours at least. We are blessed to live in a country that has power and if it didn’t come on by morning Matthew could have made me a fire to provide heat and we had a generator for all the essentials. We are truly blessed and yet even more blessed because we woke up to the machines working on getting us our power back on at 4 in the morning.
For the last few months our oven has been going out… well it still works in
the sense that it heats up and cooks the food, but it will give us an error code
and stop randomly. At first it was no
big deal and would happen once every few months but lately it will happen a
dozen times in a night while I try to cook.
We finally got the repair man out and it is going to cost more than I
was hoping to repair. I could focus on the fact that the oven is broken and all
the money it is going to take to fix it, or I can focus on the blessing that it
still works well enough to heat our food while we wait for it to be fixed and
while yes, I don’t want to spend the money to fix it at least I have the money
to spend.
Life is all about perspective. We
could look at our trials and think, “Woe is me”. We can focus on the negative aspects on what
is happening all around us and get frustrated with what life throws our way… or
we can focus on what God is doing in each situation and focus on the
positive. He is at work. He is walking with us and providing for us
through it all. If we stop and look at what
is going on we can see the small ways He provides for us… whether it be to pull
out the plug before the house burns down or a red light that prevents us from getting
in an accident. He is with us guiding us
if we allow Him too. It is only when our
focus is on Him instead of the trials that we will find true joy. My goal this
upcoming year is to keep God as my focus and see how blessed I am daily by His
love.
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