“It seems like everything is going wrong,” he said, discouragement evident in his tone and written on his face. Still wearing his office clothes, sweat soaked through my husband’s button-down shirt, and dust and grass covered his black dress shoes from multiple trips between our basement and the air conditioning units outside.
The night before school starts is always crazy. Our children attend and I tutor at a Classical Conversations program once a week; we’ve been there for years. Usually, there’s chaos because we can’t find all the books for the new school year or figure out what to pack for lunch, but this was different: the fan in one of our AC units stopped spinning and the wall in my son’s room felt so hot the outlet cover had begun to discolor. With daytime highs in the 90s, the house was miserably hot. Plus, we were becoming afraid of an electrical fire in our son’s room.
Sometimes it makes my husband crazy that I assume he can fix anything. Usually he proves me right, but I know it’s a lot of pressure. However, an hour after arriving home, he had switched out the outlet box in my son’s room, installed a new capacitor in the AC unit (in honor of our 80s heritage we call it a flux capacitor), and the air coming through our vents was cooler than we’d felt in months. A week earlier, he had fixed the dishwasher when it suddenly quit filling with water. Our leaky washing machine is next on his honey-do list.
A friend once told her husband if he came home and everything looked the same as when he left, she’d done a lot; she’d managed to maintain. We worship a God of logic and order, but for us, entropy — a lack of order or predictability or a gradual decline into disorder — is usually the name of the game.
Things fall apart.
I often look to the future for something I want to happen or hope to achieve. But in weeks like this, I remember the greatest comfort can be found in such simple things: the touch of cool sheets as I crawl into bed, sleeping through the night in safety, a steaming cup of Earl Grey in the morning, ice for my water, curling under a blanket with a bowl of buttered popcorn and a movie on a Friday night, snuggling with a sleeping baby, ice cream for dessert.
These aren’t big things — most are downright mundane — yet they impart structure and meaning to my days.
Perception influences what we make of life: Do I appreciate what’s in front of me every day or only after I lose and regain it, like my air conditioning or my dishwasher?
Sometimes we get caught up in the midst of things and miss the daily graces that surround us. It’s easy to take the everyday for granted and overlook the blessings in it. This week I challenge you — and me — to search for simple, largely unnoticed gifts. Point them out to the people around you, and let’s thank God together for what He’s done.
Praise God when your people make it home safely at the end of the day. Praise God when hot water comes out of your pipes and cold air from your vents. Praise God for the ability to clean your clothes and wash your dishes. And when everything seems to go wrong? Praise God anyway because He is good, all the time, and stands beside you through the good and bad, through it all.
What simple blessing will you stop and be thankful for today?
Perception influences what we make of life — do I appreciate what’s in front of me every day or only after I lose and regain it? -@DawnMHSH: Click To Tweet Leave a Comment
Dawn,
“My” summer has not gone at all as planned. We also had trouble with our flux capacitor. We had a leaking pipe that dictated that our whole kitchen be ripped up, floors, cabinets, and all. After living for two months in a massive mess, I thought we were out of the woods. That’s until I managed to tear a third meniscus…doing mission work of all things. Enough, already God! That’s when I knew my “Gratitude Journal” had to come out again. When you make a permanent imprint in the sofa with your behind, 24/7, you are forced to notice the “little” in life: my husband making me breakfast; the brilliant goldfinch visiting the crepe myrtle; the taste and aroma of sweet, hot coffee; puppy kisses from my beagle; a good night’s sleep in fresh sheets. Sometimes, I think God just needs me to be still so that I can see, touch, taste, smell, hear, and know that He is good. When I’m running at warp speed, I tend to miss the minute…the basic blessings of God. So as I sit sidelined, I’m journaling His gifts of daily grace. I needed this post, Dawn!
Blessings,
Bev xx
Bev, this is the perfect response to this post. I feel better for you just reading your list.
Thanks, Dawn!
Bev
Yes, daily graces received with joy change the trajectory of my thinking.
“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it…”
Sometimes gratitude is the bread crumbs on the path back home.
That’s is beautifully put Michelle!
I agree, Michele–well put!
Thank you for such a practical and honest truth! Thanking God that He blesses us when He places someone right in front of us who we can encourage, even when we are having such things going on in our own life.
You are so right, hc: the opportunity to encourage someone else can encourage us too.
Thanking God for holding my body together, keeping sickness and pain at bay as I get stuck in to my writing for this masters, it’s due on Tuesday. Thanking God for the safety on my children, for my coffee in bed in the morning and for a roof over our heads and food in the cupboard. For the beautiful heavy rain and the warm sunny days in the midst of winter. Thanking God for being my constant and for the connection I feel right now Xx
Jas, I’m stuck in a chair with a book deadline in a week and a half so I hear you. This has been such an inactive summer for me and I’m feeling it. Sounds like both of us will be glad just to get out and move soon.
We all need this reminder of Daily Graces far more often. When you stop and realize how blessed you are and begin to call out by name the many ways, it turns your perspective around. To name a few: The sound of my Perculater echoing hot coffee is on its way, getting a kiss from my husband as he heads to work, waking up with a body that is pain free and the sound of my children stirring in the beds,as the sun peeks through the windows. This was a breath of fresh air to a stale, mundane attitude. Thank you Dawn for this reminder!
Noreen, you are so welcome. You already have a great list today to be thankful for!
Praise God I am alive to enjoy another day in his beautiful world. Praise God for the Reader of this beautiful reading. Praise God for that he loves all. We should not Grumble. We woke up and no matter what we have Roof over head clothes on backs a bed to sleep in food on our table. There is someone out there in our world without all of theses things. Thank you God for dirty dishes they have a tale to tell. We had food on those plates. So by this edvances God has been very good good too us. We have a God who gives us lots of gifts of Daily Graces everyday. Thank you God. So let start and thank God more for all of his Daily Graces he gives us. If we can help someone in need. By taking them for lunch or coffee or just going to visit them asking can we him them. Giving them one of the Daily Graces Jesus would by being kind. Like Jesus was. It could make their Day all the better. God will bless you for doing it. I love doing things like this. Love Dawn Ferguson-Little
Dawn, I love your thought that we should share daily graces as Jesus would.
Love This
I really enjoyed reading your post this morning Dawn. Everyday I like to thank God for my blessings. From my wonderful husband to the roof over our heads and everything in between. Some days it takes a while because I have so much to feel grateful for, other days its a bit harder; I know God understands though.
He understands, Isabella. Just keep thanking Him.
I’m thankful for reminders like this to show me how really blessed we are. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “what if’s” instead of being grateful for “what is”. This is the day that He has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Have a beautiful day!
I love this, Brenda: the what ifs v. the what is. We are so blessed.
Yes! This sums it up perfectly: “Praise God anyway because He is good, all the time, and stands beside you through the good and bad, through it all.” When we experience what some call, “Murphy’s Law”, we can cave to discouragement or praise God right then and experience victory!
Dear Dawn,
What a lovely email to read first thing today. We’ve had a pretty “normal” summer. No disasters to speak of yet. I, too, often forget how wonderful “normal” can be. One of my daughters has a chronic illness that put her in hospitals for months at a time, during a two year period. When we had respite between hospitalizations, mundane days were lovely. Any day I didn’t get a call to rush to a hospital was a good day! Now she’s had about 5 years of relative wellness and we have a beautiful 3 year old granddaughter, too. We are so blessed any day we don’t get one of those phone calls saying: “Mom, I’m sick!” . Thank you, Lord for these “dull” days!
May you be richly blessed with the “mundane”, Dawn!
I often have to remember to think like this. I’m sweating in my house because the air conditioning isn’t working, but I have a house. I have a leaky kitchen faucet, but our roof no longer leaks. I had to apply for financial help from the state (again) for utilities and food, but thank God, that help is there, and we’re in a much better financial position now than we were ten years ago even if things are still tough just now. And thank you, God, that tax returns are getting closer every day where I can really get us back on track after so many maintenance projects we had to do to pass inspection this year.
Dawn, I always enjoy reading your posts. They are full of practical reality and shine God’s love. Thank you for this reminder. If all believers were thankful all of the time, our testimony would shine and shout out the goodness of God so much brighter and louder. He is ALWAYS good, no matter our circumstances. Thank you and God bless you!!
Today I’m thankful for same-day appointments at my son’s pediatrician, celebrating with friends over Voxer, and a delightful chicken salad for lunch. Thanks, Dawn, for the reminder to take stock of life’s simple blessings. xx
I was outside this morning with my 8 month old grandson (whom I am blessed to watch every day) & my 8 year old grand dog and I
realized it was just perfect. The buzz of the bugs and birds, the sunshine and comfortable temperature – I thanked God for it – and
that I was aware of it as I’m often oblivious!
Dawn,
This post reminds me of a song by Jeff & Sherri Easter “Thank you Lord for your blessings on me”. It was actually written by Jeff’s dad. He was an alcoholic in jail. A church group came & ministered to them. Right there Mr. Easter accepted Jesus. When He got out he found his bride & they moved into a 2-3 room shack behind a junk yard. There in that place he penned the immortal words (Chorus): “There’s a roof up above me I’ve a good place to sleep There’s food on my table And shoes on my feet You gave me your love Lord And a fine family Thank you Lord For your blessings on me In his mind he had been given more than he had before & he knew who gave it to him. I know it also. When I get down I simply pull our my gratitude journal & start writing. I put everything on it from Jesus & home in Heaven to paper clips, & rainbows. It makes me realize that I need to stop complaining & start praising God.
Blessings 🙂
Thank you God, for daily graces
Right now I live in Florida and hurricane Dorian is approaching and sometimes we lose power when there is a hurricane. So, especially in times like this, I am thankful for simple blessing of air conditioning, power, light, charging my phone, charging my computer, cooking, the dishwasher working, the stove working, fans working, being able to make a cup of coffee, doing the laundry, being safe in my own. . .all of the things that normally are included in every day, the hurricanes in life always remind me to be grateful and thankful for and to not take for granted and to thank God!