Two weeks ago I got a bad cold borderline flu. I was convinced I could fight whatever the ailment was. Vitamin C. Supplements. Echinachea. Herbal tea. More Vitamin C. I still got sick. Ten days worth of sick.
My mind fed into the defeat. Irrtable and discouraged, I told myself, you work so hard to be healthy, eat right, get enough sleep, wash your hands…how can you still get sick? It didn't take long for me to start singing a life-is-not-fair song.
The cold lingered. Turned into a deep, dry cough. A minor annoyance, I'll admit. Still, feeling annoyed is, how do I say this? Annoying.
Finally after ten days and a little stir craziness, I went to the YMCA, where one of the trainers told me about a case she had heard about on the news of a woman who had similar cold symptoms to mine. The infection went into her bloodsteam and she died.
Complain? What do I have to complain about? I am so thankful I recovered. So thankful that the infection didn't spread. So thankful that my annoyance was indeed minor.
Think and Thank. A wise friend shared this idea with me today. Whenever you find yourself in a struggle or challenge think it through and find one thing within the circumstance to be thankful for.
Sometimes (many times) things don't make sense. If you are taking care of yourself and washing your hands and eating tubs full of Vitamin C, why would you get sick? If you are always showing up on time for work, producing more than your fair share and pleasant with your co-workers and supervisors, how could you lose your job? If you do everything right, marry the right person, wait until you are older, read books about marriage and parenting, stay faithful to the one you love, when would you ever suspect they could die young?
Think and Thank. Not all things make sense. But, all things can lead us to be grateful for the gifts in front of us. I'm thinking and thanking today. Seems like a good week to do that.
