Need to Clean the Bathtub? Rejoice!

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us.
Psalm 67:1

“Sit back, relax, and enjoy the next eight weeks.” That’s what the doctor said when he discharged me from the hospital.

Six weeks ago, I looked forward to doing nothing but lounging on the sofa reading books, watching movies and catching up with my Facebook friends.

But now, there’s one thing I can tell you with certainty. Relaxation isn't all that it's cracked up to be. It can turn to boredom real fast. There were so many little things I took for granted until I couldn't do them anymore.


Here’s what I said to God about it:

Dear God.
Until I had surgery, I didn’t notice your daily blessings. Oh, how much I took for granted --

• Driving,
• Vacuuming,
• Carrying the laundry basket,
• Washing and sweeping floors,
• Stretching to reach something high on a shelf,
• Lifting more than 10 pounds of anything,
• Weeding my flowerbeds,
• Cutting the grass,
• Hauling out the garden hose,
• Bending effortlessly to pick something up,
• Changing the bed sheets,
• Moving heavy boxes of book samples (especially when Fed Ex leaves them on my front porch),
• Climbing on a ladder to change a light bulb,
• Putting away the red-white-and-blue holiday banner that’s been above the picture window since Memorial Day,
• Taking myself to the grocery store, or anywhere else,
• Pushing a shopping cart loaded with groceries and putting the bags in my car,
• Getting down on my knees to scour the bathtub, and kneeling to pray,
  
• Reaching past my swollen belly to cut my toenails,
• Having enough energy to cook a big meal and then wash the dishes,
• Enjoying long days of active summer fun with my friends . . . and, oh, so many more wonderful little things.
  

Thank you, God, for being gracious to me, for blessing me, for making your face shine upon me. I’m getting to the end of my recovery now, and I can’t wait for that special day when I can haul the trashcans to the curb all by myself!

AMEN!!

How about you? What little things do you take for granted? The next time you lift your toddler to put him in the highchair, and get down on your hands and knees to clean up the cereal he spilled all over the floor, and then pick up the sea of toys he left strewn around, shout to the Lord with thanksgiving! Take my word for it. You are so blessed to bend, stretch, lift, push, pull and carry.

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18