Have you ever found yourself smack dab in the middle of exhaustion, defeat, with a hint of this cannot be my life?

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Yep…..me too!

I can honestly say  that Tuesday is normally the toughest day of the week for me. It’s simply too far from Friday and the “fresh start” feeling from Monday has completely worn off. On this particular Tuesday around 1 a.m., our new puppy made it VERY clear that he did not like thunderstorms.  In fact, he told me over and over until he wore himself out and I finally got to close my eyes.

Gratitude

 

 

After getting a couple of hours of sleep, my alarm was going off (for the third time) and it was time to get myself and the kids ready for the day. I thought to my self, “perfect, I still have enough time to scramble some eggs and have a cup of coffee.” Little did I know, my 2-year-old had a special surprise for me. While she is normally very good about sleeping in her own bed, I assume she was not a fan of the early morning thunderstorm either. On the day that I just so happened to not have my mattress pad on my bed, my Princess has an accident. Great! Now I have to give her a bath, clean the mattress before it stains, feed and clean after the dog before we leave. Forget breakfast and coffee, running on 4 hours of sleep, I can do this!!!

And that’s when it hits me, I can’t do this…..I’m exhausted. I really don’t have to energy to go to work and I feel like a horrible Mom because I’m a moody mess.

Even after having that difficult discussion about using the potty and sleeping in our own beds, my Princess looks at me and says, “Mommy I love you, you my friend”. In that very moment life just made sense.

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Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

-Robert Brault

In the same way people say your life flashes before you, I remembered praying for a family, for a home, and for a better job. More times than not, the things that we pray for are the very things we complain about. So, I began to count all of my blessings. I started by thanking God for not only my blessings, but also for the tough times. That day I wrote down everything that I could think of that has been a blessing in my life (which is a list that I will probably never complete), I also went through old pictures and emails….I have come a looooooong way.

The #1 Method to Changing your life is to change your perspective. Instead of always complaining or looking for a reason to be negative, I live in gratitude. Here are some other simple ways to change your life for the better.

  • Start each and every day with prayer, reflection/meditation, and a heart of thankfulness (think of all the people who didn’t wake up, it’s a blessing to be alive)
  • Always search for the positive in every situation
  • Never, ever, EVER compare your life to someone else’s (everything that glitters isn’t gold, your life has its own path and purpose)

 

I would love to hear from you! What are some of the ways you strive to live a life fill of gratitude?