Reflection

As I sit here in the semi-quiet of my living room on a cool spring evening and take in everything around me, I realize anew how special life is.  I have my kids and husband here close by, a comfortable home that is filled with way too much stuff, a loving family, good friends.  It amazes me how, in the daily, moment-to-moment, to do list, sometimes stress-filled thing we call life...I take everything good for granted.  I know there are people out there going through much worse things in life than I am at present.  Yet, I still find it so easy to focus on the "hardships" of everyday life.  I want to live a simpler life.  I want to slow down and really pay attention to the little blessings, not just wait for a big blessing to feel thankful.   I will try harder each day not to get caught up in the "whys" and "what nows" that seem to fill my thoughts faster than the "thank you" Lord and  "praise you" Jesus moments.  These are the moments that bring us closer to our creator and help us through the not-so-easy times.  If we were quicker to recognize the wonderful things that fill our days instead of being so quickly annoyed or angered or inconvenienced, then maybe we could train ourselves to look to God first.  In doing so, we will eventually look past the things that so easily disturb our thoughts and learn to look upon the cross and God's grace immediately.  The Lord tells us to just, "Be still and know that I am God."  Why on earth is that so hard sometimes?