Lately, I feel like the Lord has been teaching me a lot about inconvenience.
I guess it started about a year ago, when we decided to downgrade to one car (out of frugal necessity, really, rather than choice). Perhaps for the first time, my eyes were opened to the blessings that came alongside inconvenience, seeing how the change made me be more intentional about considering our schedules, accepting the hospitality of friends and neighbors who were willing to give us a ride when needed, as well as the obvious financial fruits that resulted.
And then when we moved into our new apartment, it has seemed like one thing after another has happened, regarding discovering new leaks and creaks all over. For the first few days, we didn't even have hot water, so we had to heat up big stock-pots worth of water just when I wanted to do dishes. (We don't have a dishwasher either!)
Currently, we have a small invasion of teensy-tiny ants that have been driving me crazy, as I race after them with a fly swatter, flip-flop or little bottle of bleach-water to drown them with.
It's been one, and then another.
And each time, when the frustrations flair, I feel like the Lord is asking me to be thankful for these inconveniences. He is teaching me that though they are annoying and often more time-consuming than not, there is still—there is always—something to be thankful for. He is teaching me to accept what is given to me with grace. He is teaching me to see with new eyes how small these things really are, despite how big they feel in the moment.
He is teaching me to let him have his way with my heart, even through these most minor of situations. Though they are trivialities to be sure, he is still at work, molding and shaping. Turning everything into a lesson. What, around here, we like to call a "blesson." ;)
I know that this little journey that the Lord is taking me on right now is not over or near complete. I can sense I am still in the middle of this, perhaps even at the beginning!
For the month of December, I’m taking a break from writing new posts to better enjoy the holidays with family and friends. Instead, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite posts from my first two years of blogging here. I hope you enjoy getting to do a little time-traveling with me, and I’ll be back to ring in the new year with all new posts! (Click here to see today’s original post.)
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What I've Learned from Only Having One Car
Cultivating Gratitude for the Smallest of Things
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We don't have a dishwasher either. It's probably the most consistent point of frustration and disappointment in our home. I really want my heart to change toward our little dishwasher-less kitchen and toward the genuine blessing of having dishes to wash, let alone food to eat off them.
ReplyDeleteLove the way you look at this! I am the worst when it comes to this. I justify it saying I don't need much, just for things to go well...but that's not right. Onward and upward, thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDelete(try having a roomie who does not feel it's her calling to do dishes.)
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate, as the past 6 months+ have been all about things that I was just taking for granted. Now that I'm being "inconvenienced" I feel like God has really opened my eyes to being grateful and aware of just how much He has in store for us, especially with the trivial stuff.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you all enjoyed this re-post. The other day I was just musing about how some things seemed so inconvenient in the past, but now I'm so grateful for them. It's funny how God works like that, isn't it? He truly does know and give us what is best for us. Even when it doesn't feel like it at the time :)
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