Confession of a Rich Girl

Recently, the Lord has really been leading my heart in thankfulness. And I've been so grateful for this gratefulness! (Ha!) My perspective on life and my expectations shift drastically when I start with a grateful soul instead of an entitled one. I wanted to share with you my favorite things that God has revealed to me lately.  :)

1. Grocery Carts
I'm so type-A, even my grocery cart has to be organized accordingly. And there's so much room to accomplish this! Then one day, it struck me-- how blessed am I that I live in a country where food is so abundant, I need an entire cart just to carry it all to the check-out and my car. And for only one week's worth of food! (I mean, yes, this normally includes 17 gallons of ice cream to satisfy our addiction but regardless...)

2. Chocolate
I think tucked inside of each and every day is a moment where I consume a piece of chocolate. :) Have you checked out this video? I will forever be grateful for all of those moments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEN4hcZutO0

3. Being able to hear my husband's voice
Have you seen any of the videos regarding cochlear implants and people who are hearing for the first time? In one of those clips, the nurse asks the patient, "Would you like to hear your husband say something?" Gosh, did that strike a chord in my heart! One of my favorite things is waking up in the morning to the soft whisper of my husband against my ear. Carrie? Sweet Carebear? It's time to wake up and hug your husband. (He's adorable). So much joy created from the ability to hear just one moment. How much more joy  would I have by adding up all the lovely words I've heard?

4. The ECO cycle on my dishwasher
I use it. Married to a Science teacher so we always "go green" when we can. But how amazing that I live in a country where I can decide to use less water while cleaning the dishes, instead of concerning myself with finding enough clean water to do the dishes in the first place?

5. My engagement ring
And my friend's and my co-worker's and my cousin's and my neighbor's rings. I (still) admire my ring all the time like the giddy-little-engaged girl did over three years back, and whenever one of my friends now gets engaged, what is it we all expect to see? A ring. I mean, these are flippin diamonds! And we can safely assume that (MOST) married women in our country will have one safely nestled on that left handed finger. 

6. Trips to the GoodWill
I get a little anxiety over owning too many things and buying a house has only furthered this. Suddenly-- you need stuff! Lawnmowers, tools, towels for the half bath, extra light bulbs. How amazing to have enough possessions that I can easily give them away. Check out this:
https://fstoppers.com/pictures/chinese-families-pose-all-their-earthly-possessions-5045

7. SnapChat
I love pictures. LOVE them. Memories are one of the things I cherish most. I look through old photographs all the time and I take my camera everywhere. And now we keep cameras in our back pockets and are so free with our photos, we'll send one to a friend with the intention of having it disappear seven seconds later. A teacher at the high school where I work recently shared with me some stories of time he spent teaching in Africa. He said in order to reward his students for good behavior, he'd offer to give them a picture of themselves if they were "good" for one quarter. 10 weeks. Of no acting out or foolishness. What did the students do? Oh, what a class of well-behaved students he had. Because photographs were such a luxury, so desired, and so rare. I think of this story all the time-- can we really imagine it? In our society of "Watch this, look at me, and see it, see it, right now!" No. Pictures. Whatsoever. No way to show friends what you looked like as a baby or to remember what your parents looked like after they are gone. This one, sweet, readers, I really truly cannot imagine.


So it seems that most of these have to do with where I live and the country I was born in. We really are so blessed!

But mostly, I hope that even with all these lovely reflections, I'll remember that I am always blessed, I always have reasons to be grateful, and I always have everything I need because God is my generous Father who has taken care of everything. Even if I can purchase no groceries to fill my cart, if I have no water for the dishes, if my husband went away and all my possessions disappeared, I've been given everything I need in Christ. 

And there's nothing more I can ask for... Because it is finished.

I would LOVE to hear about the things you've been grateful for lately!! :):)
I love ya'll!

Agape,
CC