Lately my life has been crazy. Not that crazy isn’t the norm in a house where seven people live, but an exceptional level of it. Crazy that messes with your head, disrupts your day, and steals your peace.
Five weeks and four days ago — not that I’m counting — my brand new dishwasher decided to up and quit on me. Permanently, according to the repairman who’s visited my home four times.
I usually get up every morning and spray down my counters with Thieves household cleaner (yes, we’re an oily family!), but I can hardly find the surface. We dirty a lot of dishes! We’ve started using disposable plates and cups and crock pot liners (a brilliant invention), but still, I’m looking at a sink full of soaking dishes as I type.
An installer should contact me soon to discuss delivery of a replacement unit, but until then, I’m up to my elbows in suds. (Feel free to laugh at me if you don’t own a dishwasher, but you probably have an established routine at your house. I do not.)
Since January I’ve suffered from an assortment of skin allergies on my neck, chest, and face. Some I’ve identified and some leave me baffled. It’s hard to make changes when you don’t know what to change.
There’s no peace, waking or sleeping, when you are — quite literally — uncomfortable in your own skin.
As the mother of a large brood, I can tell you it’s sometimes easier when your kids visit friends or family and you have fewer schedules to juggle and mouths to feed. Still, when your family is separated your heart is divided. Last night the seven members of my family who still live at home spent the night in four different places in two different states.
It always feels like someone is missing (because they are).
I will fall on my knees in gratitude when I’ve got a dishwasher that needs to be unloaded, skin that doesn’t demand a layer of calamine lotion, and my children snug in their beds at home at night. In other words, my heart will sing with thankfulness for what I take for granted on an ordinary day.
And on my better days, I’ll praise Him when those gifts are absent.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some dishes to wash.
“. . . and be content with such things as ye have:
for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” {Hebrews 13:5}
What ordinary things are you thankful for today?
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Dawn,
I often forget to thank God just for the gift of waking to a new day. Having been sidelined in the past with numerous knee and foot problems, I do, however, remember to thank Him for the gift of being able to stand and walk and go down a flight of stairs. I try to thank him for the coffee – how it smells, the warmth of the cup in my hand, and oh the sweet taste. Once, post – op, I lost my sense of taste for a week – that was horrible. So, long story short, I’m 15 minutes out of bed and already I have a list of many, many things I can be thankful for. Thank you for drawing my attention to them ( and not my trials ) this morning. Feeling blessed…
Blessings to you and your brood 🙂
Bev
Bev, I hear you! Being more mobile when less had been the norm is a great blessing.
Oh, Dawn, I’m so sorry about all the irritating trials that have landed all at once.
Especially the dishwasher . . . oh . . .
I experience the truth of your words every day when I write in my gratitude journal. Some days it is hard to come up with three things to be thankful for — shame on me! But those are the days I list truth from Scripture. Unchanging and always true!
Michele, keep looking for those three, even small things we tend to take for granted.
Praying all things are resolved soon, especially the dishwasher. Seasons of chaos have lessons within themselves, don’t they? Contentment in all things is a hard one for me to grasp, as well.
Blessings,
Lindsey
Lindsey, the dishwasher has been shipped to an installer and hopefully we’ll coordinate delivery soon. So thankful!
Woot Woot! Let’s pray for a “safe and healthy” delivery. lol 🙂
Dawn, may the Lord bring resolution to your dishwasher commotion today 🙂 While I try to be grateful for many things, I still have a long way to go in that 😛 Yet its comforting to know that the Lord sees all our efforts and loves us, helping us grow towards that peace that seems hard to grasp. May we each be so thankful for His generous love and mercies today 🙂
An, amen to this: thankful for generous love and mercies today!
We didn’t go anywhere for spring break last week and it took a few days for my kids to stop complaining about that. And for me to stop complaining about them complaining about that. Then we just were. We just existed each day, whatever came our way (or didn’t). It was peaceful and fun and boring and a break from everything. It was ordinary and lovely!
I think that sounds like a pretty awesome kind of break. Hooray for the lovely ordinary!
Dawn,
I’m sorry to hear about how things have been for you and hope all is well soon. Sometimes simple things can be easily forgotten so thank-you for reminding us not to forget them. I have a few that have come to mind this morning, one is my little yellow canary who is singing beautifully once again.
Penny
Penny, a singing yellow canary certainly sounds like a source of sweet blessings. Thank you for your comment here!
Thank you, Rachel! I’ve discovered an allergy since I wrote this last week: the coconut oil I was coating my face in. 🙁
Oh dear Dawn! You poor thing! Ugh. I can really relate to being on overload and to recalcitrant appliances that were supposed to work (dn’t get me started on new ones that have bitten the dust of demise). Ugh! And skin stuff, too. It’s as if life and bodies fall apart at the seams, and it is no picnic. And you hope that that bad stuff is out of the ordinary, but you lament when it becomes the ordinary routine of life….stuff you keep facing. I must say though (please forgive me!) for smiling about those dishes. I hand-washed dishes for the first twenty-four years of our marriage. We lived in a turn of the century (20th!) house with no dishwasher, but me! But I managed, and it became an altar, where I slowed down and met God. Still, I will pray you can meet him when you load your next new dishwasher!
Love
Lynn
Lynn, I’m going to work really hard to see that sink of dishes as an altar, although I sure hope the delivery man can come soon. 😉
A new friend, a wonderful conference roommate, gummy Bears, warm coats in spring snow!
Amen and amen, friend!
Dawn…these are the days when you just turn the blessing of worship music up …and sing along while you do those chores …before you know it the part you dread leaves because what can stand in the place of praise? How are hearts can change when we turn our focus on Him and offer praise for all He has given us! Praying today that your heart sings!
Deanna, you are so right: what can stand in the place of praise? And gratitude? Yes!
Praise changes EVERYTHING!!!!!! Love to you and youir ministry
Your words here are so, so true. I’m the worst at trying to handle the small stuff on my own, but yes, we must depend on Him from beginning to end.
Dawn,
I marvel at the beautiful sunrises and sunsets He puts before me daily. Thankful for a wonderful hubby who works so I can stay home and care for aging dad. There are many things to thank Him for–nice cool weather & sunny days! Love the smell and taste of hot tea & a nice home cooked meal. My list could go on and on. It is so easy to gripe about our inconveniences, or shortcomings, but if we think long and hard there is much to be happy about in the ordinary!!
Blessings 🙂
Also an oily here, and praying for your healing.
And I do not have a dishwasher, so celebrating with you!