Remember way back at the beginning of the year, when we all chose a word to be our focus for the year?
Do you remember your word? Can you remember it without going back to look at your post...that maybe you've long since forgotten?
Maybe you do remember...
Has it come into play this year for you? Has it come to your mind, here in the last 2 months of the year?
Mine has,
Like a resounding GONG!
"ATTITUDE"
...this has been my most recent scripture I've added to the rotation...
This has ATTITUDE written all over it.
He has told you ,O Man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you?
But to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
There have been plenty of opportunities for me to be disgruntled and discouraged this year. But...I try and remember how ATTITUDE while it ISN'T EVERYTHING...is mighty important!!! It makes how you view a situation; determine how you handle the situation.
With the Thanksgiving Holiday quickly approaching... it is even more in my face.
I've so much to be thankful for...the littlest things bring me such joy.
Coffee and Toast. My breakfast today very simple; but so wonderfully good. The last bit of homemade bread for the week slathered in butter; and plain ol' coffee with cream and sugar.
Hot Water. Last week ... I was just grateful for WATER!!
Don't mind the icky vinyl in the water heater closet... Just no time or money to replace that one piece. Besides...once that baby is lit...we hardly ever open the door except for routine inspections!
Anyway... We've been without a water heater for a week. We've had to boil water on the stove for baths and dishes. At first, I wasn't going to blog about this...I didn't want to have a pity party. Boiling water that comes straight to my kitchen sink; CLEAN WATER, in a pot...2 pots worth for a nice Warm SHALLOW BATH...just seems so trivial to me. Poor little country girl with no hot water...but she an internet hook-up...what's a girl to do? Just sounds petty, huh?
But the more I thought about it-- I reasoned in my head, this was ok! It's ok to show the ugly side of life...with the good. It's ok to show people that you may not have money to buy a new water heater...but hey! You still have water and you can still bathe. It just takes a little bit more effort.
I also told The Honey... "Well, at least,this will conserve on propane a little bit longer. We're only heating what we need."
While we didn't 're-invent the wheel' this week; I did learn a few things.
- If I place a pan of water over the pilot on my stove...I have warm water to wash my face and hands in the morning and throughout the day. With no effort.
- I also learned that the delivery guy from Lowe's ...LAST YEAR! hooked up my washer wrong, and I've been using hot water almost every time I wash something in my new washing machine. He had the water lines crossed...go figure! (and what a waste of propane!)
- The first thing to go...when TRYING TO BE HUMBLE...IS HUMILITY.
- I also learned that captured rain water does more than water the garden...it waters the chickens and the dogs.
- I learned we take a lot for granted in this country. Hot water or any water for that matter; coming out of the tap, into your home, is a luxury.
- Emergency Funds are for real emergencies and some people's idea of an emergency, is skewed. CASE IN POINT: a water heater isn't necessarily an emergency...but buying propane is.
- A lifetime of teaching/showing your kids how to give to other's who may have a need is a good thing. Our 4 kids all chipped in and bought us a brand new water heater and surprised us with it yesterday. Then my baby brother dropped by and helped The Honey get it installed.
- ...and finally,I love hot showers!
He has told you ,O Man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you?
But to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
7 comments:
I find that if I can have a hot bath or shower I look at life with a much better attitude! It is something we often take for granted, but I know it is a luxury when you consider a lot of the world. I can't believe your note about the washer, however!! Man, you would have thought you would have shrunk some clothes.
I can't imagine no hot water heater for a week.
You have a wonderful attitude, Pat. Such a good reminder to appreciate what we have and to remember how rich we are compared to so many in this world!
Our water heater is outsie in a pit . It's very very small with a ladder going down. It scares me when it goes......not many can fit in that space. We have done without big items like that before and it is hard. Most people don't understand. Yeah for your kids.
Pat, how wonderful of your children. You are reaping the rewards of raising them right! We once had a busted main at our old house. We didn't have the money at the time for repairs and it was beyond our abilities. We would only turn the water on for a few minutes for a quick shower, to flush the toilets or wash dishes. That went on for a month until our parents helped us out and paid for a replumb. I remember feeling the lowest of low that we couldn't even provide water properly to our children, who were quite young at the time. We made the best of it, times got better, kids learned how to be frugal and I try to never take good fortune for granted. Now, I just need to change my attitude to hopeful as well as grateful!!! Ann
Sweet kiddos, like their Momma...I always read stories set in the not so long ago past when folks rented cold water flats. The luxuries we have now are so many. In Okinawa we had kerosene and a switch to turn on the heater for long enough to heat for showers, usually for dishes I heated some water on stove...or did them at night when it was turned on for showers.
we had to go to the station, bring the kerosene home and fill up tank, we did drinking water that way for a year during a drought too, because our water was turned off for 28 hours, then turned on for 20 hours, which made it non-potable all the time, but I hardly ever recall these things when I think of our great tour there, it was just something we did.
Lezlee
Thank you for the reminder to be grateful for all we have. This thing that went wrong with your water heater provided an opportunity for your children to show love and kindness, makes it all worth it.
Post a Comment