Gratefulness

Standing in my kitchen, waiting on a pie to finish baking and trying desperately to figure out what to write in this blog, I’m staring blankly at my refrigerator when all of a sudden I begin to take notice of all of the pictures stuck to it by magnets.  I would estimate there are around 20 or 30 photographs placed all over it, most of these senior pictures of students from our church.  You see, my husband has been an associate/youth pastor at our church for over 11 years, and every year in May we receive pictures from many of our graduating seniors, pictures that inevitably find a home on our refrigerator door.  I very rarely ever take one off, and so one can imagine the gallery we’ve accumulated of recent.

While looking at these photos, a thought drifts across my mind:  man, I am so blessed.  With the hustle and bustle of every day life and the issues and trials that unavoidably crop up, I many times find myself becoming discontent and restless in my life.  But looking at these photographs reminds me of all the wonderful friendships with which I’ve been blessed, all of the students I’ve had the awesome opportunity to invest in and to see changed as they grow, and I think to myself how good I’ve really got it.  An incredible husband, a job I enjoy going to, and a ministry with students that I’ve grown to love—how can I possibly ever be ungrateful for what God has given me?