Tuning back in with this week's joys. I'm not sure I've ever done anything in my life more... Well, every time I think about it, I think about the analogy of "rose-colored glasses". If you're wearing rose-colored glasses, the whole world looks pink. Generally, people mean this to be a bad thing. Like you're brushing past all the grey sads or painting over them. But it's a perfect picture of how we see. We are all wearing glasses. We all see the world through our own minds and so often, we choose what we want to see, what we don't, and how. We can't escape this, and while we can certainly strive to examine things through different kinds of glasses, in so many ways, we are stuck with our own. This Joy Dare? Every day that I write down my joys, my gifts, counting to 1000, I'm cleaning off my glasses. I'm ever-so-slowly changing the prescription and making my view of God, of His world, of His presence in my life come more and more into focus. My glasses aren't rose-colored; they are God-colored. And once you start looking for Him? You can't stop seeing Him.
From the past week, my gifts:
1) Dancing with my daughter ("Some Nights" by Fun)
My husband had a song stuck in his head, so he pulled it up on the "tee-bee" as my two-year-old says and he turned that sucker up. I held my daughter and before I knew it, we were spinning around the living room like a couple of crazies. She couldn't hear the pulsing beat and the catchy melody, but she sure could feel my fingers digging into her back as we turned and turned. She could see the whole room moving around her, and she kept locking my eyes and belly laughing. Big, hearty, whole body laughs. It was some of the most fun either of us have ever had in our small lives. I will never forget it.
2) A dead car battery
You know how life is sometimes. Things break and require maintenance and it can be mind-bendingly frustrating. It can also be an opportunity to see blessings. My husband's car battery died in the impossible cold, and I called our garage to see if they could tow it for me. Instead, a nice man came... to our house... on his lunch break and jumped it for me. FOR FREE. He referred me to another place who installs batteries for free, asking only that I remember them if we needed work done in the future. To add to the experience, the employees at the battery place were beyond kind to my kiddos and gave me a discount on my purchase. This annoying, life-interrupting event seemed like a burden, but really? It opened up my day to some very kind, giving individuals.
3) My husband's cheerful attitude
I am the Type A and he is the Type B. I am the worrier and he is the welcomer. I am the planner and he is the free-spirit. We complement each other (and compliment each other), and it helps us grow. But one thing my husband still has on me? His cheerful attitude. It truly seems like nothing gets him dreary. He can find humor in the midst of pretty much anything, and I am so blessed by rolls and rolls of laughter from him each day. He wakes up whistling and laughs in his sleep, and I need that. I so need that.
4) Live Civil Wars (on YouTube)
Oh, man. The Civil Wars. If I could be them when I grow up, that would be a dream. We enjoyed one of their live shows as a family the other night (from the comfort of our living room) and did a lot of playing my son's pretend guitar and leaning into some tight harmonies. Beautiful. (And yes, worth an hour of your life!)
5) Meeting milestones
Our last meeting with my daughter's therapist was... well, not great. She recommended increasing the frequency of her visits. My daughter was (is) falling behind. I was feeling discouraged, but I know (because we've been here before) that it will all come in its time. So we kept on with the exercises, working on sitting up and bearing weight on her feet. I felt like I was seeing some improvements, day by day, little by little. Her therapist's visit this week confirmed that. She was so excited for my daughter, seeing her do things that just two weeks ago, she wouldn't! Victories, friends! Victories!
6) A "normal" morning
I sat at the table, eating my breakfast the other morning, when suddenly, my life just felt very normal. I'm not sure I've really felt normal in... well, at least since June. It's all been upheaval and adjustment and coordinating and busy. But there we were, the three of us, eating our breakfast at the table. And it just... it was normal. I don't normally put pictures of my kiddos on here, but this one is worth sharing:
See that? Yeah, I kinda couldn't believe it either...
If you're interested in last week's gifts, the link is here. Also, check out Ann at A Holy Experience with this Saturday's "Only the Good Stuff" (inspiration for what I'm sharing here). Lastly, I tapped out a little tribute this week to all the cornermoms out there. If you're a mom, be encouraged in your work! Til next time...
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