Grateful for Lessons Being Learned

I started Lent giving up complaining. Lately, I have had a greater tendency than usual to complain, whether with my words, with my actions, or with my simply moaping around and general impatience. I can't say giving up complaining is always easy, especially when the boys acted up during Mass on Sunday and completely zapped my energy... is that complaining? I hope not! Let's see... they were teaching me patience and love. And they also afforded me an excuse to go back to church to pray that afternoon, since I needed to let go of my frustration. Thank you, God, for difficult children!

As you can see, this is not easy for me, but I am TRYING! But I gave Christ an inch in this, and when you give Him an inch... He'll make use of it! He is teaching me not only to not complain about my circumstances but to instead find JOY within them. He is teaching me not to look for the hassles and difficulties of my life but to instead look for the ways in which He is present in my life and in my family, to look beyond that which is not perfect to Him, who is perfect, and to the beauty He creates. He is teaching me to trust Him in all circumstances, that He has a plan and will bring about good from anything and everything. He is teaching me not only to be grateful for the gift of today but to REJOICE in that gift and to CELEBRATE the little things given to me each day. He is teaching me not to put off my joy until Andy graduates and the kids are old enough to pour their own milk without spilling and dress themselves, but to be joyful NOW.

Lord, I am so very grateful for this lesson of joy. May we all forever look to You for all that we need, remembering that You are the source of all that is good and all that is holy. May we remember that You are present in our lives at each moment of every day and look for your presence, rejoicing and celebrating when we see Your beauty shining through into our world. Help us to shift our focus from the problems and difficulties we encounter and keep our eyes set upon You, handing over those problems to You that You may help us through them and perhaps even create joy in the midst of our struggles.

Comments

Nancy said…
Thanks for this reminder....You are very brave to take on the no complaining thing. It sound like you are doing well...even if it's just one minute at a time.

Thank you also for your comments on my blog. It's hard for me these days to find some balance. I still need to take it easy, but things do need to get done. I know that 20 years from now, it will have been better to just "be" with my family...rather than trying to make the house clean. Besides...I have 3 small children.....how long can a house stay clean anyway???
March 17, 2009 at 4:58 AM
A Bit of the Blarney said…
You have a true gift of humility! And you know that saying thank you in the bad times has greater reward than saying it in the good times (which we often forget to do). You are a treasure! Cathy
March 17, 2009 at 5:00 AM
Tracy said…
Very, very brave of you.. I try but I keep falling back into "complaining" but I really feel that it would be good to keep working on it.. :)
March 17, 2009 at 2:45 PM
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