Thankfulness, Turkeys, and Time Change Woes

Yes, my husband is dressed as a giant turkey for his Thanksgiving sermon.  We are starting the week that focuses on remembering our blessings and being thankful for what God has given us.  Usually, when you begin to  focus on the good, guess what happens.  Annoying stuff starts scurrying into your life like sneaky, gross cockroaches.  As I mentioned last week, I wanted to focus on the good.  I woke up last week ready to do just that.  I crawled out of bed still half asleep because I am not adjusting well to the time change.  I threw on my scrubs, fed my children, dropped them off at school, and rolled into the parking lot a little early.  As I sat talking to a co-worker, I realized that I was wearing my pants inside out!  Tags and everything.  I hurried into the bathroom for a quick wardrobe change and found myself thankful that I had noticed it before I started going to the preschools where I do therapy.  The next day, as I rolled into the parking lot, I noticed a dryer sheet hanging out of my pants leg.  Now, I know I'm not the only one who has done that.  The way I look at it, at least people know that I have washed my clothes.  As I yanked the sheet out of my pants, I juggled my coffee thermos, my water bottle, my breakfast smoothie, my can of sparkling water, and my purse. Unfortunately, I am not a skilled juggler.  The can of sparkling water hit the ground and developed a hole that began to spray me as though I were a toddler running through a sprinkler.  I turned.  It rolled the direction I turned.  Imagine me squealing as I am sprinkled with the essence of strawberry.  At least there was no sugar added, so I only smelled fruity.  Little things like this popped up through-out the week.  None of these things were horrible.  They were inconvenient.  I think how we deal with inconveniences in our lives can indicate spiritual growth in our lives.  As I've mentioned before, I like to feel in control.  So when I face inconveniences that throw my plans off, I struggle.  Today, we celebrated Thanksgiving at our church.  My husband dressed as a turkey for his sermon because he lost the competition between the girls and boys at our church.  Whichever gave more for missions had the other perform a silly task.  The girls won, so he preached that you can't fly with eagles if you hang out with the turkeys.  Having my husband do this sermon, along with a great potluck, brought out a lot of people.  The control freak in me wanted to make sure everything was perfect.  Guess what happens when you look for perfection.  You definitely do not get it!  Would there be enough desserts?  I spilled ice all over the floor creating an ice rink by the drink station.  The sermon was shorter than the heating time for the turkeys.  During this time, I had determined to focus on the good and not stress over what I couldn't control.  It did not have to be perfect.  So I created the mantra, "I am not a Martha" over and over.  I've also mentioned that when Jesus came to speak at his friend, Zacchaeus' house, he had to tell Martha to loosen up after she got angry when her sister, Mary, for sitting at Jesus' feet instead of helping her cook.  I've determined to be more like Mary and enjoy the relationship over the struggle for perfection.  So "I'm not a Martha"  became more of a hysterical cry in my head as more and more things seemed to pop up.  Everything ended up running quite smoothly, and even with some mild hiccups, the service was beautiful.  My point is this.   The question is not whether you are going to face inconveniences.  You will.  The question is will the relationships with others be more important than problems that arise.  Sometimes you need to let things go so that you can let things grow.  This Thanksgiving, I am grateful that Jesus let my sin go and forgave me.  

Have a great week high-heeled warriors!