grateful

i've been fighting some Blogger's Block this last week. between the demands of my new job and general fatigue, my mind and spirit haven't been as clear enough for the topics to flow as easily as they had been....

so, tonite, as i was thinking about what to post, i kept thinking about gratitude. everywhere you turn these days--whether it's the TV news, the internet, the newspaper--the outlook is bleak. ppl are losing jobs left and right, homes are being seized by the bank, retirement savings are going down the tubes. middle-class families are on-par with those living on the poverty line, barely able to put gas in the car, food on the table, and clothes on their children's backs. Millions of Americans don't have adequate healthcare, and violence is claiming our children and other innocent bystanders in the street. i'm sure that i will get some unpopular backlash on this one, but, in November we will, in my opinion, have to choose the lesser of two evils to run this country and try to get us out of this mess. and, like it or not, racial lines are still drawn in this country whether you live in a big city or in rural Appalachia, and it's gonna show.

as someone who works in the financial services industry, i worry about my OWN job security, as even tho our CEO tells us that everything is fine...you just never know.

things are pretty bad right now.

BUT GOD.

i am reminded tonite to be grateful for what i DO know and what i CAN see:

• my family is healthy.
• PC is thriving.
• i am surrounded, near and far, by amazing friends.
• TODAY, i have a job.
• i have a comfortable roof over my head and something to eat as many times a day as i want.
• i can go to the doctor when i need to, and take PC when she needs to go without worrying about how i'll pay for it.
• i can see, hear, breathe, walk, and talk on my own.
• even in the midst of my busyness with life, daily He gives me opportunity to serve Him by serving and loving others.

i don't mean to come across as preachy. myself included, we all get into our ruts where we wanna complain about this or about that...where we take for granted the very basic things that we somehow think will always be there. i can speak for myself in that EVERY time i have complained about anything, big or small, in the past couple of weeks, i have felt convicted--every single time. i know that is an area that i need to work on and i am taking steps to do so.

with everything that is going on, it is natural to have anxiety. i have friends who work for companies whose numbers are steadily sliding downward daily--and they go into an office where the morale is terrible. i have friends whose companies are in the middle of acquisitions and they don't know how their job will shake out when all is said and done. i have friends who worked for major corporations--multi-BILLION dollar entities--only to have it bought out and be handed a pink slip and a box to pack up their desks. i have friends who work for the companies that have been in the news--AIG, Countrywide, etc--who have mortgages to pay and children to feed and clothe, while layoffs loom and/or have already happened.

i know single moms with ARMs who have seen their payments balloon $200+ and not quite sure how they're gonna make it work. stay-at-home moms whose husbands work in investment banking and who aren't seeing the income that they need to support the household. friends who are teachers in districts where enrollment is down, classes are being consolidated, and as housing pricing fall, so do property taxes and school funding.

ordinary ppl who are just trying to make it, take care of their kids, and live some sense of normalcy.

and that "normalcy"--that [false?] sense of security has been snatched away.

and so, we all, in our own way, ride this wave out.....try to remain positive....stay focused that there will be brighter days...and trust Him to provide.

and continue to maintain an attitude of gratitude for what we DO have....which is certainly not promised.

be encouraged.