Blessings

I took yesterday off because I have to admit that I was feeling a little burnt out. Not because of blogging, but because every now and then my mind just feels really cluttered and I needed some time and some sleep so that I could sort things out. During my time off I was reminded of something that I heard Joel Osteen say this Sunday. (Husband thought he had strep throat and so we went to TeleChurch this Sunday. Hallelujah! Amen.) He mentioned taking things for granted that you once cherished and I realized that I was doing the same thing with my faith.

I had someone ask me about faith once and as I was trying to explain that you have to try and the more you see it working the bigger it gets the person asked, “So you get everything that you ask for?” I looked and took a deep breath and realized that I was going to have to be honest. I said, “Pretty much, yeah.” He responded with an, “Oh” and walked away. The truth is that I don’t think of God some kind of ATM or omniscient Santa. I am not in it for what I can get out of Christianity. Trust me when I tell you that it would not be worth it to fake it just for the stuff. I would have also argued that I appreciate everything he has ever done for me, but once I got to thinking I had to admit that it was just like Joel Osteen said – after a while you start to take miracles for granted.

I remember when I first gave my life to God. You would have thought that I had discovered the cure for cancer. I could barely contain myself because I was so happy. I had been brought back from the brink of spiritual death and real life sluttiness and been given a second chance. If felt good, but I have to admit that now there are some days I don’t even think about what a great gift I’ve been given. I take His love for granted as a given that should be there. It has happened with other things, too. We spent over a year looking for a house and we found our “perfect” house in just enough time to buy and get settled before LoLo was born. When I was so sick that I shook and could barely walk I found comfort in His word and the songs that I know from church. He has saved the lives and livelihoods of family and friends and with each blessing I promise to never take Him or His love for granted again, but I always do.

You stop seeing the house as a gift and start focusing on all the things you don’t like and the wall colors and wallpaper that you want to change. You stop thinking about the healing and focus on how out of shape you have gotten because you couldn’t work out. There always seems to come a time when that miracle is no longer enough for us to be impressed. We are just never satisfied with what we have. We get used to the good life and start to treat the Cheerios like White Label cereal and then the caviar like Cheerios.

I had been thinking about all of this and about some things that I have been wanting and hoping for. I have been wanting to make a little more money from my dessert business and I have been trying to figure out how I can get my licensure stuff together. All of this was in my head before I went to bed and by this morning I got a call asking me about a dessert buffet and an email discussing a position that could help me get my paperwork done. Every time I talk to Him and trust Him He pulls through for me. This time I am going to try my best not to forget and not let the new car scent wear off this time.