Where is your heart?

I was having one of those days.  You know the ones.  You wake up in the morning and even though you drank your caffeine for the day, you are still not quite awake.  And then the kids get up.  They don’t put the cereal away and leave jam on the counter.  They need to get to school, but they act like they have 8 hours to get ready.  The youngest can’t find one shoe and my daughter is running late and doesn’t have time to make her lunch.  And here I am….still not awake and feeling overwhelmed by it all.  I am irritated.  I am tired. I am ready to run away from it all.  The reason I’m tired is because we have an almost 7 year old that still climbs in bed with us during the night.  And he is a cuddler (that is probably not a word, but should be).  He doesn’t just lie next to you, he lays ON you!  Now I will cuddle with him when I’m awake, but in the middle of the night? No way!  I want my space when I’m sleeping.  But he kept laying on me and I kept pushing him off me all night.  I was gearing up for a long day.

But then something happened.  Not a big something, but a few little somethings that turned my day around.  It started when I was in my bathroom getting ready for my day.  I heard my youngest yelling “MOM”….”MOM!”  So I followed the voice into the back yard where I found my boy at the top of a huge pine tree.  I mean it was taller than my house.  He was at the tippy top hanging on, in my opinion, to the flimsiest limb in the world.  But it caught me so off guard that I just laughed out loud.  He asked me take a picture of him before he descended to the safety of the ground.  I took one and it made me happy to see my son in that tree.  I don’t know why, it just did. 

On our way to school, we saw a hot air balloon in the sky.  Near where we live we see them all the time in the summer, but only occasionally in the winter and spring.  Every time I see a hot air balloon I smile.  Again, I don’t know why, but they make me happy.

After I dropped the kids off at school I had to go to an appointment and as I turned on the radio, Keith Green was playing.  He is my very favorite artist.  I am so challenged by his life.  But you never hear him on the radio anymore.  Then it hit me.  My attitude had changed.  I began to realize that the boy in the tree, the hot air balloon and the song were little gifts.  Gifts to be thankful for.  I began to praise God for these little treasures.  And my heart began to worship.  Being thankful can really change your day.  How about you?  Where is your heart today?  Can you think of little gifts in your day already that you can thank God for?  Tell me about what you are thankful for today.  I dare you!