what if we were thankful

i've been thinking again, about the importance of ritual in our lives.  those things that ground us.  that we depend on. things that are reliable and stand when other things fall.  this morning mike and i sat on our front porch together in stillness, with our coffee and our celtic book of prayer and our bible.  this time is sacred.  it's needed.  it reminds us of what's really important.  it is a practice that we began about a year and a half ago, when we were beginning to think about this uganda move, and we have come to treasure it.  when you nurture your spiritual self, God shows up. when you open yourself you grow.

after this time of stillness- i rushed to the dentist.  it's a cool, hip office with a hip, cool dentist. seriously, he's a guy that i would want to hang around with.  and they have tvs for while you're actually having the cleaning- so the today show was on.  there was a segment on hearing loss and hearing aides and the options and how much they cost- which was quite a lot by the way.  then they had a segment on moms.  they discussed the results of thousands of moms from 'parenthood' magazine and shared that basically everyone feels overwhelmed and alone.  they focused on how more moms than not would rather be thinner than have their kids be smarter, and how they felt that they judged other moms parenting styles and in turn, felt judged.  i know it was just a short snippet- because that's what news is- but it really bugged me.  and it made me sad.

i felt like asking 'where is the thankfulness?' 

yes, raising kids is overwhelming- anyone who's read this blog before knows i feel that.  yes, we are tired, yes we have moments of questioning how we'll get through a day. but i wondered how many of those mothers surveyed, how many of us, are on welfare- how many have kids who are severely handicapped, how many have spent nights crying about not being able to get pregnant, worrying if they'll ever have children, how many have to worry if their child will survive to age 5 as most of the world does.  have we lost our perspective?  have we forgotten to be thankful for the blessing of these little lives?

my friend erin has a friend who has three beautiful children.  two of them have a rare genetic disease called batten disease.  a disease that causes progressive neurologic deterioration.  first they have seizures, then they lose the ability to walk, then to eat, then they can't communicate. it's a disease that is fatal.  this mom will lose two of her three children, probably before they turn 10.  this mom wakes up everyday thankful that she still has three kids.  thankful that while one needs to be carried- she can still eat and talk.  thankful that her child who can't do those things, can still breath.  this mom should be exhausted and overwhelmed.  this mom probably feels alone.  there is a video about them, www.noahshope.com.  beware. you will cry.  but we can help support them in finding a cure. and we can remember to be more thankful.

i think we get out what we put in. 

if we fill ourselves with only 'people' magazine, and if we spend our time comparing ourselves to the stuff we see on tv, and if our lenses are so focused on our needs, and what we don't have, or don't look like- we won't get much out of life. 
we need to put goodness in. 
we need to choose to be thankful. 
and we need to reach out to each other - so we won't feel so alone. 
and if we want people to be vulnerable- we need to be vulnerable too. 
we need to think on these things. at least i do.