Enjoy The Journey

Today at church I had an amazing experience I would like to share with you. And, no I am not going to go off on some wild tangent trying to lure you into my way of thinking. So relax, sit back and let me tell you about what I learned. Things I have learned before but things that actually hit me hard today. Things that made me wake up and think that I was being spoken to.

We had such a cute speaker today. A young mother of four little children. She started off by telling a story of one of her most trying days. A day that begins quite normally. Two children off to school, Dad off to work and Mom trying to at least get a shower. Her two year old starts off by pouring syrup all over her new couch and Family Room carpet. She deals with this incident and the two year old lives. Next child # 3 goes off to Pre-School and leaves Mom with the two year old. She is still trying to finish getting herself ready for the day when she hears nothing. Every mother in the world has surely heard the dreaded nothing. Two year old makes an appearance and states that there is Big Trouble, Big Trouble, his hands covered with white out. She discovers that her hardwood floors also have white out on them. So she scrubs until she has no fingernails. And the two year lives. Everyone returns from school and work. There is a quick kiss for Dad along with a short hug, dinner, homework, laundry, baths and more cleaning. She goes to bed knowing that tomorrow it all starts again.

We have all had days like this. Days when we barely make it through. I have been very unappreciative lately of all the good things in life and had made a pledge to myself to be grateful for those good things.

We need to Enjoy Our Journey.

This cute young mom gave us 4 things to do so we don't miss out on all the good things going on along with all our trials.

1 - Slow down and open your eyes! When was the last time you played in the rain? The last time you laughed out loud? You read something just for fun? The last time you laid on the grass on your back and watched the clouds? If we can find those things we used to, and still can love, we can renew our spirits. We can have a greater purpose in life.

2 - Find ways to serve others. Cute Mom has job charts for her four children and has added a line for service. She is amazed at what her children can find to do to help others. Things she had never thought of. Shouldn't we try to teach our children how to slow down and help those less fortunate, ill or struggling? Shouldn't we be doing that too?

3 - Pray, Meditate and Study Uplifting Writings. When we take time to understand that sometimes there are greater forces at work in our lives we get the chance to learn and grow. No matter what our beliefs are we can always get strength when we take a few quiet moments to reflect and be appreciative of what we have. A few quiet moments alone with our God or whoever or whatever brings us peace will give us the strength we need to carry on in this crazy world.

4 - Gratitude. As adults we are over sometimes overburden with the have to's in life. We have to get up in the morning, we have to go to work, we have to go grocery shopping, do the laundry, clean the bathrooms, walk the dog and on and on. This is where I have been stuck. I do not want to get up and go to work. I do not want the drudgery of what I see as a hopeless situation. But, (and I cannot tell you how many people have told me this!!) I should be very grateful that I have a job, that I can pay my bills, that I am healthy, that I have clothes to wash and a car to drive. We live in a world where we get the opportunity to be challenged everyday. I am going to start looking for that challenge.


So take a few minutes and take a look around and see how blessed we all are. See, if like me, you have been missing out on some really good stuff. Everyday stuff going on all around you. And hug someone you love every chance you get because someday that someone may not be here to hug.