My mom would always repeat the proverb “I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.” I understood what she was trying to say, but I never really grasped the true meaning. Until today.
I was driving home from the grocery store feeling very sorry for myself. I was thinking of the long list of foods I can no longer eat. Hearing my belly grumble I caught a glance in the mirror of the ugly red rash that covered my face. I looked away unable to stand the sight of myself. As I got closer to home I wondered if I would be able to get the coffee stains out of the new sweatshirt I had just purchased a couple weeks ago. Sullenly, I thought “What else?? What else could possibly go wrong?”
It was as if my mom was sitting beside me in the car as I drove into my neighborhood, because I thought with a change in spirit “Yes Jill. What else??”
I began to think of all the foods I CAN eat. The fresh produce and lean meat that filled my grocery bags. I thought of the water I had, not only to drink but use to bath, wash my dishes and wash the stain out of my sweatshirt. I thought of how fortunate I was to live in a place and time in which I could see a doctor earlier that morning who would prescribe me medicine for my ailment. I felt my hands on the steering wheel of the car I was able to drive to the home that keeps me warm. I pondered the plethora of clothes I could choose to wear while I was washing my favorite sweatshirt. I thought of my healthy children and my husband who I love more than anything I could ever own.
We live in a world in which we cannot help but covet our neighbor’s kitchen, a stranger’s physique and our friend’s fancy shoes. It is difficult to take a step back from wanting things we do not need, and feel blessed for what we have. Life is rough sometimes. It can appear even rougher when we lose perspective and focus on what is wrong.
Today, in one brief moment when I heard my mom’s voice “I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet”..... I saw my blessings. With this perspective I found gratitude and felt true happiness.
I was driving home from the grocery store feeling very sorry for myself. I was thinking of the long list of foods I can no longer eat. Hearing my belly grumble I caught a glance in the mirror of the ugly red rash that covered my face. I looked away unable to stand the sight of myself. As I got closer to home I wondered if I would be able to get the coffee stains out of the new sweatshirt I had just purchased a couple weeks ago. Sullenly, I thought “What else?? What else could possibly go wrong?”
It was as if my mom was sitting beside me in the car as I drove into my neighborhood, because I thought with a change in spirit “Yes Jill. What else??”
I began to think of all the foods I CAN eat. The fresh produce and lean meat that filled my grocery bags. I thought of the water I had, not only to drink but use to bath, wash my dishes and wash the stain out of my sweatshirt. I thought of how fortunate I was to live in a place and time in which I could see a doctor earlier that morning who would prescribe me medicine for my ailment. I felt my hands on the steering wheel of the car I was able to drive to the home that keeps me warm. I pondered the plethora of clothes I could choose to wear while I was washing my favorite sweatshirt. I thought of my healthy children and my husband who I love more than anything I could ever own.
We live in a world in which we cannot help but covet our neighbor’s kitchen, a stranger’s physique and our friend’s fancy shoes. It is difficult to take a step back from wanting things we do not need, and feel blessed for what we have. Life is rough sometimes. It can appear even rougher when we lose perspective and focus on what is wrong.
Today, in one brief moment when I heard my mom’s voice “I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet”..... I saw my blessings. With this perspective I found gratitude and felt true happiness.
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