A few months ago, I found myself in wish land. I don't wanna sound like I'm complaining. I love my house and I feel very blessed to have it. But I'll also be the first to admit that it's not perfect. I hate the work triangle in the kitchen. I'd love it if my living room were a tad larger. I'd also love a more open floor plan. A jetted tub would be fabulous in my master bath. Yada yada yada. You know how it goes.
So there I was dreaming up all the fabulous things that my "dream home" would have. I admit, the dreaming made me more discontented with my own house. Well, one day amist all the daydreaming, I decided to get busy and to do some house cleaning. You know, the kind of cleaning which usually gets neglected around here- dusting, mopping, wiping down fingerprints, etc. When I got done, I felt such satisfaction, contentment and gratitude for my house. 'I love my house', I thought to myself. And it was then that I stumbled onto this principle. When we take good care of our stewardships, we feel more gratitude for them.
Two other examples.
When Chad & me were dating we talked about having a 'car cleaning date'. It never happened. And you wanna know something else, something sort of disgusting- Chad's jeep didn't get cleaned til about...oh, I'd say THIS YEAR! Yep, that's 3 years. Prior to its' cleaning, I'd always had a sort of dislike for that jeep & hated driving it. I thought it'd be the first to go when we sell one of our cars. But now, with the interior all cleaned, I've begun to grow fond of that jeep. And now, I'm fine with hanging onto it for however long. When we take good care of our stewardships, we feel more gratitude for them.
Example three. My body. Sometimes getting ready for the day is a pain, especially when I know that I probably won't see anyone other than my family and both boys throw crying fits when I'm hopping in the shower or trying to get my make-up on. But I usually do it anyway. I feel so much better about myself if I do. And with regards to physical health- I can't speak from personal experience right now because, truth be told, there's a lot of room for improvement, but I can speak from past experience. :) It's no secret that I've struggled with body image. But when I'm treating my body good & that includes getting sleep, exercising moderately & eating a healthy, balanced diet, I feel an inward contentment. I might be a smaller size right now than times past, but I admit that I really miss that inner satisfaction of treating my body good. It was a feeling of well being. I'm getting back there. We've been eating a lot more veggies & fruits around here. Cutting back some on dessert. And guess what, I'm going to start working out at the Y with my sister & some friends. When we take good care of our stewardships, we feel more gratitude for them.
There's so many other examples I can think of- kids, callings, money, time...and now my chubbiest "stewardship" is crying for me. (And since photos make every post funner- enjoy some pictures of him).
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