When we choose to not see the beauty.....

In the past week and a half, we have received a total of about 25 inches of snow.  Give or take of course.  And this snow hasn't just been off and on for almost 2 weeks.  No this snow has happened in just 2 snow storms.  One moment we were having enjoyable fall-like weather and then BOOM the next day we were covered in 17 inches of snow.  And then today we woke up to light snow falling and them BOOM another 8 inches or so.

This first snowfall was the first we have experienced in our current rental house.  My sweet husband was dreading this day.  You see, our landlords put in red rock for a driveway.  Not the ideal choice when you live in the Midwest and winters tend to come with lots of snow involved.  Travis did his best to shovel the entire driveway a week and a half ago.  He quickly learned that was not the best way to go.  Tonight he used my dad's snowblower he loaned us.  Well we again quickly learned that wasn't the best route either.  After multiple hiccups, Trav finally gave up and came in for the night.  He was not only exhausted but also very clearly mad.  I sat and listened to him unload his frustration and then it was time for bed.  When I came downstairs from checking on our oldest, all the lights were shut off in the house.  I went over to the window and looked out to see if it was still snowing.  And suddenly my breath got taken away....

I saw the beauty and magic of the situation...

I sat and looked out into the peacefulness of the snow still falling.  Off to the right are some tall bushes, and they were so beautifully covered in snow.  The dim streetlight shining on them ever so gently.  As you looked up into the streetlight, you could also see the shimmering of snowflakes still making their way down to the ground.  It literally took my breath away.  Travis soon came out into the dark living room to see what I was doing exactly.  I said, "Look at those bushes.  How gorgeous they are.  All that snow sitting on them so peacefully."  His response? A muttered "You go out in it and shovel then..."  Here I was wanting to go grab my camera and head out into the night to capture the beauty that was around us while he was on the polar opposite end of it. While I chuckled at his comeback, it also left me thinking how much of our daily lives are like this.....and how I have so been in his shoes with not wanting to see the beauty.

Instead of looking at the mounds of snow that needed to be shoveled...

There are always 2 different viewpoints to every situation.  We can either find the beauty and contentment in whatever we are faced with, or we can choose to let ourselves get swept away in the negative.  There have been very few moments in my life when I'm faced with a trying situation and still choose to be content.  Where I willingly choose to see the beauty.   It is incredibly hard to do.  Especially when we live in a world where we are taught that we can have what we want, when we want it.  Where we are essentially taught that we are entitled to what we want, when we want it.

So how do we try to turn the tide? How do we strive to always be content with what we are given or find the beauty in any situation? Gratitude.  What if when we start to feel ourselves getting bogged down in the negative of a situation, we take a step back.  We pause, take a deep breath, and think of at least one thing we are thankful for.  No matter how tiny or small it may seem, we choose to take the time to be thankful for that one thing.  I will be the first to raise my hand to say I struggle in this area 99.9% of the time.  When I think the situation I'm dealing with is crappy, that's all I can think about.  Why me? Why this? Why now? But the truth is, I'm not entitled to having a picture perfect life all the time.  Crappy situations are gonna happen and they aren't going to be fair.  But instead of wasting my energy on the bad, I want to intentionally pick out some things I'm thankful for among all the bad.

Currently I'm reading Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World by Kristen Welch of 'We are THAT family'.  I'm only on chapter 1 and this is what it is doing to my heart.  That's right friends, it's supposed to be a book on how to raise my kids to be more grateful.  I wasn't expecting it to point out where I'm clearly lacking.  But the truth is: what we want our kids to be good at, we also need to be good at. Preorder of the book begins TODAY!!! And I strongly encourage you to head over to the link and order yours.  Not only do you get some free goodies for preordering but man is it gonna be good for your soul.  Not only does it have good good stuff to help us be better parents, but man does it show you that you aren't alone in this parenting world.  The struggles you have are the same in every family.  We aren't alone in this.  We can learn from one another.

What situation are you facing that is yucky and not so fun? As hard as it might be, can you think of at least 1 thing to be thankful for? Or to be content with in the situation? And if you feel comfortable sharing, I would love to pray for you.....