Thankful

Today I was going about my normal Tuesday routine when out of no where I was knocked over the head with a dose of reality. I had to fight seriously bawling at the grocery store. Maybe I shouldn't have fought it. It was so overwhelming. What I saw was breath-takingly beautiful.

Neena & I were going down the last row when a woman & small child--maybe 6 yrs old--started coming up it from the other side. The little boy was pitching a fit, throwing himself in the floor right there in front of the refrigerated alcohol & ice cream toppings. Now, I must be honest, when I first saw them, I saw the lady get down with him in the floor & try to talk him out of the fit, & I thought, "uh oh; that tactic is never gonna work. she's giving in to his tantrum, letting him be in control." But then I realized he had on a special seat-belt-looking harness & I knew, of course, that he had special needs and she was doing a fantastic job working through it. My heart went out to her immediately because I realized how tough that had to be on her. So when they made it past the fit & continued shopping, I echoed her words of praise to him, just as much for her as for him. She thanked me. HOW EASY I HAVE IT; I am sooo blessed. I choked up a bit after we got past them & I was wondering if the lady with him was a teacher, sitter, or mom. To be honest, from personal experience, I was more inclined to think it was one of the two former rather than the latter.

To my dismay, they came & got in line right behind us. I was only dismayed because I saw how full my cart was & I was concerned another fit would ensue if he had to wait a long time. And also because I was already on the verge of tears. But the lady continued to encourage him & he smiled & made it, no problem. And then, when they paid for their two items, she did it. She referred to herself as "Mom." Such a simple phrase. And all the difference in the world to me. I was so proud of her. Humbled by her determination & day-to-day struggles. I wished I could give her the moon. And I realized again how much I take for granted even though I feel like I make a conscious effort to be thankful & to realize what all I have to be thankful for. I am so blessed. Even as I type this, Neena has been over playing on the keyboard playing & singing, "I will call upon the Lord...Ruby tuby luby praised." What a cool kid.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, I ran into someone to whom I complained about my severe pregnancy heartburn. That person is a former bulemic. Made mine sound like nothing. Aside from the fact that she may not be able to have children because of the abuse she put her body through. And MY heartburn is only because I'm having a child. Wow. Life can be so hard. And I'm not exempt from hardships. But my life is different because of my Savior. I am reminded of how when Jesus saved me, He not only saved me from eternity in hell--He saved me from a life of misery, insecurity, fear, & pain. Of course, I still face those things...but I've never had to face them alone. Everything I've ever gone through, Jesus has been with me. The Holy Spirit has been my guide. And I have never faced anything without having a Biblical, heavenly, eternal filter to see it through.

And it made me so excited. So excited that Christ is real in my life. I am so thankful for my blessings but I am also so eager to share what Christ has done for me with others. I want to tell the world about Him =) So I thought I'd start with you all here on my blog. Thanks for listening!