Grateful

Yesterday we were at the outlet mall waiting to check out at Carter. We found a pair of boots for each girl that fit over their braces... this is huge in our world! Shoes are hard to find with braces but boots... thats like striking gold!
The check out line was disorganized and people didn't know where the line was and so someone ended up cutting infront of me which is fine, she appeared to be in a hurry and thats fine. At the check out they were asking everyone if they wanted to donate to Carter's fund for hurricane Harvey. The woman laughed and said "I need someone to set up a fundraiser to give me money" and then looked me in the eyes. I am sure I had an interesting expression. That was not the social norm to hear in that situation.  It was not what I was expecting to hear. Because in a situation like the hurricane most people step outside of their bubble and think of others. That doesn't mean I will give at every store that asks, Brent and I sat down today and had a conversation about what places could do the most good with our money to help others, which I feel is the wise and responsible thing to do, but I will admit at first I was really judging this person... how could they be so selfish and ungrateful, we were standing in an outlet mall with all of the modern convinces and water was not covering everything.

But then I stopped to think, we are all ungrateful at times. Sadly gratefulness is not something that seams to come natural to the flesh since the beginning. One could argue that ungratefulness is part of why the apple was eaten in the garden.

In America we are great at ungratefulness. Most of us deserve a participation trophy for it. We are a culture of more, more, more (cue Switchfoot "Adding to the Noise" playing in my head) we are always looking for what is next and what is "mine." Drive on the roads, hang out in a crowed place, wait in a line... it is everywhere.

I have a friend who you can tell gratefulness is just a part of her. It flows from her and it is always something that I have admired about her. I know even the tiniest things she is genuinely grateful for.

So as I thought more about the situation yesterday I stopped to check myself... where am I ungrateful. What places do I need to stop and refocus? Where do I need to express my gratitude better? How do I remember to have a heart that is looking for things to be grateful for instead of looking for more. Its so easy to get caught up in everything else, but just looking at my newsfeed this morning, my house is dry, I know my next meal is taken care of, I have safe water, I'm not in a brothel community, and I have a husband who genuinely loves me... these are all things that I should not take for granted.

So today I am thankful... I am thankful for all of the people who read what I have to day, I am thankful for the teams of people who help my kids, I am thankful for our support system... Grateful!