I just had to show the picture Wesley drew of Rosco the other night. He got a drawing set with charcoal pencils for Christmas and has enjoyed using them. This was his inspiration the night before we headed back to school.
Last night, during our family devotions, Steve and I had the opportunity to talk with Wesley and Mikayla a little more about thankfulness. When we went back to school yesterday we heard from others what they received for Christmas. The kids came home sharing that some of the people they knew got Ipads, cell phones, Ipod Touches, etc... There is nothing wrong with those things at all..... but Mikayla admitted to us that she was a bit jealous of some of the things other people had. Now, we had a very blessed Christmas around here. VERY.
I honestly couldn't lecture her... I could understand. We all have times where we look at someone else and think they "have it all." I think as we get older and into adulthood this actually can become more problematic. The things become bigger and more expensive and we all can have the" jealous bug" hit us at times.
It gave me time to think as we shared with them again how blessed we really are. Sometimes when things aren't the way we would like them we compare ourselves to others and we wish we had their lives.
We wish life was "easier" like"so-and-so's."
What we fail to do is look around us and see what we have and how we have been blessed. No, we may not have the latest and greatest things out there, but we are so rich in comparison to many people in this world. I truly have no right to complain nor be jealous. God has blessed me so very much and praise should be coming from my heart in the place of jealousy.
I am thankful for these talks with Wesley and Mikayla. As we help them, we are continuing to learn from the Lord, too. It was something I thought about long after they went to bed, and you can see I am now writing about it!
Each day is blessing enough, even when times are hard, because somewhere in that day the Lord has shown you His presence. You may be too caught up in yourself to see it, but He truly is there showing you.
Take time today to listen to His still, small voice and count those blessings so you can truly see what God has done.
1 comment:
Great post! I always admire, and gain much from your insightful words! This is a hard thing to discuss and rationalize with our children, when we at times fall short ourselves with the same reactions. When I find myself faltering, I try to focus on Phil 4:11-13.
Wesley's drawing is really good! And his new pet is precious! Ash and David got aquatic frogs. Wonder if she will be the first Meredith girl to have pet frogs in her dorm??? LOL!
Thanks for the encouraging comments on my blog header! I checked out Photoshop, but it was "greek" to me. I like the detailing of your header better. ...Baby steps, I was so excited to do what I did on Picnik. Maybe I'll graduate to Photoshop in the future! :)
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