Tag Archive for thankfulness

20 Feb 2012
Autism • Moms • real life • Special Needs

Stella, the steam cleaner, saves the day!

by Jennifer Dyer

My Bissel steam cleaner

Stella, the great

Stella, the steam cleaner, has saved many a day around our house. With an autistic child and an elderly dog, Stella comes out to help almost daily. She should have a cape…

Yesterday, while caring for eldest who was experiencing another bout with strep throat, I discovered that the elderly dog had … confused the carpet with the great outdoors. To make matters worse, Rachel, my sweet 8-year-old with autism, had decided that if the dog gets to do it, so can she… Meaning, my poor carpet had a bad day.

Anyway, I wasn’t happy about the multiple messes, not to mention that the house was beginning to smell like an old privy carpet. Plus, I had JUST steam cleaned carpet the day before. Why was I having to do it again? Not only that, but I was tired and I had work to do, and I was so sick of messes taking up all my time and energy. It wasn’t fair! Blah, blah, blah…

Yes, I was being a big whiny baby and making the mistake of comparing my life to other’s, along with feeling quite sorry for myself… When I pulled out Stan (he is Stella’s twin brother that belongs to my parents–Stella is out on location saving another house from a naughty dog), I let the not-so-soothing motor drown out my whiny thoughts. That’s when I FINALLY started to pray. Wow, was I making it all about me, or what? I had been about to throw myself a pity-party.

Instead of whining and why-me-ing, I knew I had to focus on being thankful. Either that or lose IT. Even though it was hard at first, I started with the basics. “Lord, thank your for Stan and Stella. Thank you that my parents bought us a steam cleaner in the first place then lent us theirs. Thank you for carpet. Thank you for our house. Thank you that I have enough towels to clean up these messes. Thank you that I have a washing machine to wash my towels…” I kept going from there, thanking the Lord for more and more things. My heart lifted with each little thank you.

I can never thank Him for everything. There is not enough time (and I mean that literally) to thank God for everything He has ever done, but I can start small and keep going from there. Whenever my heart-itude gets hardened by stress, anger, defeat, or even piddle spots, I find my spirit uplifted and renewed more with each thank-you to the Lord.

May you find a bright spot of thankfulness in your day, my friends!

And, in case you have some of the same steam cleaning needs, here is a link to Stella’s sisters and brothers… Bissell

| No comments | Tags: , , ,
23 Jan 2012
Moms • Parenting • Special Needs

Resting in my imperfections.

by Jennifer Dyer

On my way out the door, I gave myself a final perusal in the mirror. I smiled at the reflection. “You look pretty good. I’m surprised people don’t think you and eldest (who is only nine) are sisters…” Seeing my wedding ring on the counter, I walked back to get it an took another mirror glance, this time from up close.

Hmm. I aged ten years, just from walking to the mirror. Little laugh lines spread around my eyes. Age spots taunted me from my cheeks. And my lack of talent with an eye liner? Quite apparent. I stuck my tongue out at the reflection. “I liked you better from back there.”

As my eyes found more imperfections to criticize, I had a thought. I’m spending all this time thinking about the outside, but what about my heart? Not the blood pumping vessel, although that is important, too. I mean the seat of my emotions–the essence of what makes me…me.

Sadly, my heart is far from perfect, too. Yes, from a distance, things seem pretty good. I smile, I try to help people, and I even managed to vacuum once this month. But up close, there is always a hint (or loud scream) of selfish. I think mean thoughts about others and get irritated that life isn’t about me. I don’t always enjoy the demands of raising a special needs child. Even when I help my daughter with her homework, I sometimes get irritated because she isn’t doing it my way. And no matter how many jokes I make about it, I really don’t like scrubbing carpet….

Just like my exterior, there are things I can do to fix up the situation. I can add more makeup to my face the same as I can add more smiles and charitable works to my heart. But the age spots and naughty spots are still there, even if they can’t be seen by the naked eye.

This is why I am so thankful to serve such an amazing God. Jesus came and died to take care of those imperfections. Even when my naughty heart spots show, I know he took care of them once and for all. And for that, I will never stop being thankful.

I hope you have a thankful day, my beloved friends!

| No comments | Tags: , , , ,
29 Sep 2010
real life

If Only.

I have a nasty case of the if onlys. Sometimes it’s worse than others, but I seem to never quite get over it. Perhaps you’ve also been infected and recognize the symptoms. If not, it starts something like this:

If only … I could lose five pounds, my jeans would fit better and I would be happier.

The infection gets worse from there:

If only … I had a bigger house, it wouldn’t be so messy. If only I had a nicer car, I wouldn’t be late since I wouldn’t have had to check the tires. If only I had a new oven and a better fridge, I would be a better cook. If only I made more money, I wouldn’t have to worry about the bills.

It goes on to infect other areas of life, especially my mothering: If only I had her personality/disposition/waistline/house/car/dog … etc, I would be a better mom.

It becomes acute when I start thinking: If only … I were different, things would be better.

Is this good, right, noble, and pure thinking, the kind in Philippians 4: 8? No.

Many years ago, while I was in college, God gave me a good dose of reality at the height of my eating disorder, which helped me turn this kind of toxic thinking around. One Sunday evening I arrived at a church meeting and met a new girl. She was adorable–thin, cute, and nice. After that, my if only disease went into fast forward. If only I looked like her, I could be cute, thin, nice, and happy. It was all I could think about–how I didn’t look as good as she did in her jeans and my life would be so much better if I did.

I would have gone home deflated had she not had the courage to tell me more about her life. She was in recovery from a severe eating disorder and had just been released from a treatment center. That night was one of her first nights out. Ack! I had spent the entire night being envious of a girl in worse shape than myself. The irony caught me in the heart. I don’t have a clue what the sermon was that night, but I hope I never forget God’s stirring in my heart.

I often think back on that moment when I have an if onlys relapse. Then I take a good dose of the cure: thanking God for what He has given  me.

May your day be thankful.

| No comments | Tags: , , , , , ,