Lately, I feel like the Lord has been teaching me a lot about inconvenience.
I guess it started about a year ago, when we decided to downgrade to one car (out of frugal necessity, really, rather than choice). Perhaps for the first time, my eyes were opened to the blessings that came alongside inconvenience, seeing how the change made me be more intentional about considering our schedules, accepting the hospitality of friends and neighbors who were willing to give us a ride when needed, as well as the obvious financial fruits that resulted.
And then when we moved into our new apartment, it has seemed like one thing after another has happened, regarding discovering new leaks and creaks all over. For the first few days, we didn't even have hot water, so we had to heat up big stock-pots worth of water just when I wanted to do dishes. (We don't have a dishwasher either!)
Currently, we have a small invasion of teensy-tiny ants that have been driving me crazy, as I race after them with a fly swatter, flip-flop or little bottle of bleach-water to drown them with.
It's been one, and then another.
And each time, when the frustrations flair, I feel like the Lord is asking me to be thankful for these inconveniences. He is teaching me that though they are annoying and often more time-consuming than not, there is still—there is always—something to be thankful for. He is teaching me to accept what is given to me with grace. He is teaching me to see with new eyes how small these things really are, despite how big they feel in the moment.
He is teaching me to let him have his way with my heart, even through these most minor of situations. Though they are trivialities to be sure, he is still at work, molding and shaping. Turning everything into a lesson. What, around here, we like to call a "blesson." ;)
I know that this little journey that the Lord is taking me on right now is not over or near complete. I can sense I am still in the middle of this, perhaps even at the beginning!
Carmen writes the blog, Life Blessons, which provides an intimate look into her life as a twentysomething woman as she details her experiences learning how to live out her faith, enjoy the simple things in life and be the woman God created to her to be. Along the way, she shares the blessings and lessons that are a part of this journey, the things she likes to call her "blessons."
Feel free to read more at her blog, Life Blessons.
Related Posts from Life Blessons
What I've Learned from Only Having One Car
Cultivating Gratitude for the Smallest of Things
