You’re living your worst nightmare.  Everything you hold is taken away in an instant.  Poof, gone.   The people.  The things.  The memories.  The future memories.  You are standing alone, with no one to turn to.  You feel utterly hopeless and fearful!

How could this happen?

You rub your eyes, and slowly open them.  It was all a terrible dream.  Your husband is snoring beside you.  You check on the children who are breathing heavy under their bed covers.

You walk downstairs to your pets rustling.

The dirty dishes are still in the sink from last night.

You sit down and breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly the annoyances that bothered you yesterday don’t seem to matter at all.

The laundry is piled up on your washing machine, and you smile.

The pet hair is accumulating along your baseboards, and you shrug it off.

You hear your children arguing with one another upstairs and it brings you comfort.

The things that bother us most days, are actually blessings if we look closer.  They are signs of life.

None of us are guaranteed today.  Enjoy the life that is before you.  Be grateful and kind.

The perfection we seek after kills our joy that was meant for us today.

Stop striving after perfection and be grateful for the blessings that this day brings.

You’ve heard it said:

Imagine all you didn’t thank God for today, was taken away tomorrow.  Would it change how you looked at the people and things around you?

Perspective is a game changer when it comes to experiencing joy.  Stop looking at what you don’t have, and realize all you do have right in front of you.  Today is a gift – don’t leave it unwrapped.

Some Practical Ways To Do This

Thank God for the husband you have, not the husband you hope to have after you “fix him”.

Thank God for your child, even when they get on your nerves and it seems like they will never change.

Thank God for your home.  Your beautifully, imperfect, not-so-pinteresty home.

Thank God for the current state of your body.  That weight you hope to lose, face you long to fix, or hair you long to grow. . . embrace and accept where you are today.

Thank God for money you don’t have; remembering, if you had everything, you’d only crave more.

Thank God for those unfulfilled dreams on the shelf.  As dust continues to swallow them up, know that God holds your future dreams and desires.  Trust His timing.