Being Tuesday, I am writing another Tuesdays Unwrapped to link to Chatting At The Sky’s blog. Emily hosts this day to stop and write about “any thing that offers a glimpse into your own journey of discovering the gifts in the midst of the ordinary.” “To share a moment that may have otherwise disappeared under the pile of daily tasks. Instead, stop. Notice. And be thankful.” To quote Emily directly. I went back to that post just to remind myself of the task of today.
As I was working in my kitchen in our new parsonage I looked out the window and noticed that it was raining. Torrential Rain. Like we had all the time in the Philippines. It made me thankful for a roof. In the Philippines we had a metal roof with no form of insulation to muffle the sound so every time it rained you would hear it and most of the time it was thunderously deafening. It would rain so hard, the sound of it pounding on the metal roof made your ears hurt.
Thinking about the rain and the roof made me even more thankful that the decision was made to put a new shingle roof on the parsonage when they could have put on a new metal roof.
As I lay in bed last night listening to the creaking of the upstairs baseboard heat expanding, I was thankful that we no longer sleep under RATS scritching and scratching over our heads in our ceiling above our bedroom. A ceiling that was so infested with termites that you would lay there wondering at what point is the rat going to fall through the ceiling. You know that first scene in Ratatouille? Yup, that was us …but not quite so many rats. However, for me ONE OR TWO WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH.
As I washed clothes the other day, I was thankful that I could do as many loads as I want and not have to worry about running out of water. In the Philippines I was limited to two loads a day, yup, with four kids and a minimum of seven complete sets of clothes (often more) per day being sweated in. I sympathize with Pioneer Woman and her continuous battle of getting the laundry done.
The parsonage is seemingly over run with stink bugs and lady bugs. Every time I smoosh another one and clean it up I am thankful that it is not a 2-3 inch cockroach, or a snake, or even a harmless gecko.
Don’t think that I was not thankful in the Philippines. While I was there, I was very thankful to have a roof above my head, and a bed under me. I was thankful to have a real washing machine and thankful to have a home to be able to chase the cockroaches, geckos, and snakes out of. For God had provided our wants not just our needs.
And today, I am thankful for that what God has provided again. Here in this present place. For the blessings I can unwrap in noticing the ordinary things around me.
