Being Grateful

We write for several reasons and today my reason for writing is to release stress and count my blessings.  This week...well actually, this whole month has been stressful and this post is for me. If anyone else can learn from this experience or be inspired in any way,  then I'm glad I wrote it for you to read. 

At Christmas we had three working cars. Starting the first week in January we went down one car per week. Our savings for a new kid's car also went down with each repair, until that savings account had very little left. The second week of January, college started for three of us.  The mom guilt I have had for me going back to school on top of these expenses was weighing so heavy on my heart and mind.

I'm a religious lady, not a fanatic by any means,  but I do have faith that our prayers are answered in a way we need them to be. I also believe the purpose of life is to learn, grow and do good until our time on earth is done.  Once I realized all I could learn from this situation I started to see a more clear picture and all the blessings or "luck" we were having. Being aware of  all the blessings I've seen in our lives makes these stresses seem so much easier to handle and manage. 

Every car that has or had issues could've had issues while we were going 80 miles per hour down the freeway. Our fairly new teenage driver could've been driving when some of these things happened. No car or people were injured through any situation. We easily found a car to replace Jim's old car. It wasn't the car we were going in to look at but this one is better and it's one that fits every need that we didn't even consider. We had no trouble getting financing or negotiating the price we needed to stay within....and we negotiated down $800 below blue book value even!  When I told Jim I'd been thinking about skipping a semester of school because the family needs me, my time, more acceptance of subbing jobs at school and our money. He said, "We had our own babies and you babysat, sold candles, avon and did a ton of other things to make ends meet while I was in school. It's my turn to do that for you. You will NOT put your education on hold again." I love his support and encouragement.    

I am a firm believer that if we are aware of our blessings and the good in our lives then the hard times we go through seem easier to handle or manage.  If I stop and think about all the money we've spent on cars that are either now dead or still needing repaired, I still feel overwhelmed. Though seeing all the good that's going on around me makes it seem manageable and I can enjoy the life I have. 

 I like the word adventure more than the word journey. Adventures are always fun things go on and a journey seems long and drawn out to me. So, find the good in life, be happy and enjoy your  adventure.