Sunday, August 19, 2007

Thankful

I know it has been a while since my last post, and that is mainly for two reasons, both involving my new baby girl. The first is that I have been very busy with work, finishing this semester of college, and spending time with my wife and baby Bryleigh. The second is that outside of those tasks, not much has been going on, nothing that would interest the readers of this blog anyway.
However, there is an advantage to not having a lot going on in your life. It helps you to stop and appreciate all that you have. Last night as I sat in the recliner feeding Bryleigh as she looked at me with her loving, innocent eyes, I was moved to consider all of the blessings in my life. I first thought of Bryleigh and what a blessing she has been to me, as well as the rest of my family. Then I glanced over at the dog who was just looking back at us with her puppy dog eyes and thought, wow, God has even blessed me with our awesome dog Shylah, who loves Bryleigh, Stacy and I unconditionally and lives just to try to please us. Just goes to show that God is great not only in meeting our needs, but is also involved in the little details of life that make it so enjoyable. Of course, my wife has been awesome in taking care of our baby and going the extra mile to not only meet Bryleigh’s needs, but also spending quality time with her stimulating her little mind which is like a sponge soaking up all that it can.
So while I am as busy as I have ever been, and finances are beyond tight, God is still blessing us and I know he has a plan for us now and in the future. I know that life can bring stress and worry and it can get you down if you let it. However, just like most everything else in life, we can choose how we deal with the circumstances of life and whether we choose to view the glass of our lives as half-full or half-empty. As for me, I choose to view my glass as filled to the top. Sure there are many things I would like to have, many places I would like to go, and many things I would like to do, but when I look at my life in proper perspective, I realize how truly blessed I really am. Even in material wealth, most of us have more than 75% of the world’s population. However, the things I treasure most cannot be measured by mere socio economic standards, because they are the priceless gifts of family and friends. In that area of my life, I am a very wealthy man indeed.
Each new day we are given is truly a gift, and the word that best describes my outlook for each day and hopefully the attitude of my heart is, “thankful”!