God, Forgive Us When We Whine.

The day before the snowstorm hit I received a text from a friend that read "Oh God, Forgive Me When I Whine.", and when I clicked on the link to read the entire poem sure gave me a "rude awakening" and truly opened my eyes. See...for the past couple of weeks we've been carless and even though we've been through this dilemma before dealing with broken down cars it can be frustrating...especially in the brutal winter. Luckily there was a friend in our church who was kind enough to lend us her car just until we figured out what to do with ours, but weren't able to borrow it for too long. We were debating on fixing the current car we own, or buy another one. Decisions  are the worst, and car shopping is no fun when you have no car to look for a car. We certainly don't want to rush into buying just any car, and end up with another issue! We've been there done that quite a few times throughout our marriage, and the consequences of making sporadic choices like that can be very expensive, and a life learning lesson. I can tell you so many stories of our days, and the luck we've had with cars in the past, but that's a whole other story. One good thing that has come out of situations like this the end result has usually, for the most part been a positive one. I also realized that after reading that poem over, and over again how grateful my family and I are for having two feet that gets us to the places we need to go. 

Extremely grateful! 

Reading that poem made me not only think of those with any kind of disability, but our pioneers as well. Walking in the dead of winter without layers of clothing, carrying children until they couldn't anymore must not have been easy. So many suffered and died along the way so why should I complain about walking in the cold, and not having a car? Well...I haven't complained too much because I made the choice not too. Plus walking in the cold, and being outdoors in the winter time can be invigorating! I'll tell you my attitude towards broken cars has gotten a lot better since the last time, and I am done whining. I am grateful to have a teenager who is healthy and has two feet to walk when necessary to and from school. Grateful she has friends who will drive her home at night from late drama rehearsal. I'm thankful that both Chelsea and Noah are young and resilient and really don't care if we have a car or not. They love venturing out in the neighborhood, and going for walks (even in 25 degree weather!). I'm grateful that Jon has loyal fellow UPS drivers whom he's become buddies with that he'll carpool with, and offer a helping hand. Granted there will be one day out of the week where he'll walk home & even though it's about six miles he doesn't mind, and loves the exercise. I'm happy that it keeps him fit. Besides it gives him alone time to clear his head, and to find clarity on any personal issues he may be having whether individually, or as a family. 

I'm grateful that this 43 year old body of mine can tolerate all the stresses of life that recognizes when enough is enough, and will say to me, "STOP, pray more, and worry less because stress isn't good for your heart." I have learned to listen to that voice more than ignoring it. Grateful for public transportation because back in the 1800's there wasn't any (unless you rode a wagon!) Grateful for clothing and shoes that helps keep us warm while walking. Grateful for neighbors and friends who I can call upon for a ride in an emergency such as attending my church activities and meetings! Yes! I know this issue is a temporary problem, and we are enduring, and handling it the best way we can. We have been served and have served others over, and over again without any hesitation or obligation. Grateful for hearts so strong that because we have love in our hearts we know that God will guide us to the right vehicle. 

But for now we will use our feet that'll take us where we need to go without whining, and enjoy this journey with eyes to see, and ears to hear, and a beating healthy heart to soften us so that we can take this test to learn, and appreciate the little things that others may not have that we often take for granted.