Starting out from scratch is not easy, as we have found. Recently it seems we just can’t catch a break. – Whether it’s the car breaking down for the 6th time, or exorbitant parking fines, or having to borrow even more money to pay our bills, or having to move out of our house suddenly, or our mentally unstable neighbor from Hell waking us up in the middle of the night AGAIN, or being called in to work 12 hour shifts a day, or watching the medical bills pile up, or how little time Jono and I have been able to spend together. Each day is becoming more and more of a struggle.
But…
As I was sitting here and complaining about all of the above and my lot in life, I paused for a moment and thought of what has been going on in the news:
I thought of the 11 people in a passenger van who lost their lives at a stop light, and of the pastor who was falsely accused of sexually harassing his congregation, and of the 19 yr old aspiring model who was fatally hit by a truck as she was crossing the road, and of the hospital patient shot to death by police in the back yard, and of the two journalists in Bangladesh who were found stabbed to death in their home, and of the 3000 city workers that will lose their jobs by the end of the month, and of the many victims of the Concordia cruise ship sinking, and of the hundreds that are dying of the flash freezing temperatures in Europe, and of the thousands of innocent people who have been killed in the protests in Syria …
And I think of my very own friends and loved ones too:
Those who cannot find a job that will support them and their family, and those whose marriages and relationships have crumbled, and those whose children are handicapped and don’t get sufficient healthcare, and those whose relatives hate them and have disowned them, and those whose car was totaled by an irresponsible and crazy driver, and of the one whose accident left him unable to work for three weeks, and those whose parents are ailing and fully depending on them, and the one whose best friend passed away last week from cancer, and those whose house burned down, taking everything they owned in the world with it…
And it’s then that I see that I have so so much to be thankful for:
- Even though Jono and I see each other less and less these days, I have the endearing love of the most wonderful, caring man in the world, who still tries to make time for me, even though he works like a maniacal dog.
- Even though I have had to work crazy hours as of late myself, I have a good job that is providing steady income for us to live.
- Even though we do have to move out of our house, because of our terrible neighbor, at least we have found a suitable new place, and at least she is not coming with us!
- Even though we have had high medical bills, at least the physiotherapy treatment is working and we are both getting better and better every day. And at least I will soon be getting health benefits to cover every bill.
- Even though we do have unavoidable parking fines, at least we have a car.
- Even though we have had to put so much money into the repair of the car, at least it is still running and serving us well.
- Even though we still owe money in loans, at least we have loved ones who trust us and care enough about us to help us out.
So, yes, starting out from scratch is not easy, but then again, nobody said it would be. We are so thankful for all of our many friends and family members who have lent us a helping hand and a listening ear this past year. We couldn’t have done it without you! For every dark cloud, there are silver linings – even though seemingly hidden at first glance – keeping us sheltered in these tough times.
Thank the Lord for all of our many blessings!
I hope you’re making the time to count yours too.
You know who you are. (Hint: You own large pieces of real estate in my heart!)
Look out, world! Mei deleted off of Phil’s camera the only photo of me shooting, and so spent the rest of the evening trying to make it up to him. Quite humorous attempts, ha ha.
