Thankfulness

I just need to share some thankfulness today. I've been thinking about this for several days, actually. It started as I was folding laundry earlier this week - Monday, I think. I really, really don't like to fold laundry. I don't know why - it's just annoying to me. It's been that way for as far back as I can remember. Folding laundry used to be one of my jobs growing up, and I hated it then. I didn't mind cleaning the kitchen, but I really disliked those laundry piles.

As I folded this week, though, I thought about those piles of clothes and realized something. Were it not for my nice, big washer and dryer set, laundry would be a much more daunting chore. In fact, I remember times in my life when we had no washer at all and had to hand wash laundry for a family of seven. Fortunately, that time was short, but it moved into a time when we had to wash our laundry in a washer made for a vacation house. TINY! Then we had a larger washer, but no dryer. So, through that cold, wet winter, I was responsible for hanging the laundry out to dry. I remember days when the clothes froze rather than dry. I would go get them, take them off the line, and move them indoors for folding, only to realize as they thawed that they were still very wet. There was no way to know if they'd truly dried without thawing them first, especially since my hands were frequently too frozen to feel anything!

And now I have my wonderful washer and dryer, and all I have to do it dump the dirty clothes into the washer, transfer them to the dryer when they're clean, and then fold them and put them away once they are dry. Suddenly, doing the laundry became much more of a blessing. Then I realized what a blessing it is to have enough clothes to last even when I fall behind on the laundry. And from there, my brain moved on to many other things...

This week I've been thankful for a 34-year-old sewing machine that works beautifully and has helped me make quite a few Christmas presents. I'm thankful for a serger recently handed down to me that is opening new doors in sewing projects. I'm thankful for an extra printer that we got as a "free" bonus with some computer order we placed several years ago. Without it, I have no idea how I'd finish my printing this week. I'm thankful for a computer that handles our multitude of family needs. And that's just to name a few things that have been prominent on my mind lately! And that's just "stuff."

God is so good to me. There are so many things I can be thankful for, but many days I let my mind wander to things I'm frustrated about instead. I have much better days when I'm thankful. It makes a world of difference! So, here's to thankfulness, and a commitment to be better about offering it up!