Taking Inventory

Hullo. I know many people take inventory of their lives--personality, relationships, goals, fitness, financial state, etc--at the turn of the year. I am blessed (??) to be at the whim of my constantly churning mind which does a pre-scheduled (the schedule of which is unknown to me until it happens) accounting of all of the above. It did it this week. I suppose it was the combination of Thanksgiving and my birthday.

The inventory totals are still computing and configuring, but the preliminary results are out. Here are some of them:

I always tell my boys that no matter what, you can ALWAYS find something to be thankful for. Always. Even if it is that the day will end. I have SO MUCH to be thankful for. So much.

I need to work on fading away into the background. I know this seems paradoxical to say, but it is the only way that my needs are met and that there is peace in my heart. It's a mystery, I know. And a constant battle to push on to that spot. But to there I must go. To nobody land. There has been too much of me on parade lately.

I'm reminded that my first charge is to be a wife and a mother. It is also the place that gets me most quickly to nobody land if I'm doing that job right. So back to the grindstone with that.

Although I meet God intensely in some of the adventure and excitement of life, it is in the ordinary, mundane, everyday affairs that He takes his chisel to me to keep filing off the rough edges. I need to stop fidgeting and sit patiently so He completes His work in all faithfulness.

We all suffer. I want to be even better at encouraging others in the midst of theirs, in spite of my own.

And finally albeit more lightly in some ways, I'm reminded how much I love to run. It reminds me of the gift of my health. I imagine the breeze on my face as the physical touch of God. And I want to keep doing it for as long as I can. I'm only in my middle late 30s, for Pete's sake, so I will continue to go. (Did 5 miles today in low 30-degree weather--starting to brace for the real winter cold. Next goal at this point is a half marathon in St. Louis in April. We'll see.)

Thank-you, God for my faith. For my family. For my friends. For all of the random strangers you put into my life that teach me things about humanity and about myself. Let's go for another 37 years, shall we?