A few nights ago I made enchiladas for the first time, complete with amazing homemade enchilada sauce! As Joe and I sat there laughing at the American/Canadian differences in our pronunciation of enchilada (both far from the authentic!), our little lady piped up next to us and said, "these sure are delicious echee-lalas!" Oh we laughed and decided that was the best pronunciation of all.
Pronunciation was not the lesson at this dinner, however, instead it was gratitude.
The sauce was quite spicy, and the enchiladas were filled with black beans, sweet potato, and spinach. I knew there was a very good chance it would be too much for our wee ones, but we have a family policy of trying everything so I kept my mouth shut and watched Liliana out of the corner of my eye. With each bite her eyes watered a bit and she chewed quickly before taking a big gulp of water. I was waiting for her to tell me it was too spicy, but instead she threw us a huge smile and commented on how delicious the echee-lalas were.
It struck me thinking about it later that a grateful, positive word out of our lips can actually change the disposition of our hearts and move them from ungrateful to thankful. Painting an experience with enthusiasm as opposed to negativity can give us the nudge we need to immerse ourselves in that experience and seek joy in some small corner of it. That joy, well, it makes room for miracles.
As one of my favorite authors and bloggers, Ann Voskamp writes, “Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant—a seed—this plants the giant miracle.” Elsewhere she writes, "“As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible.”
Joe and I have been married for almost 5 years. While those years have had their ups and downs, the times when we have managed the downs by seeking to name the gifts we have and be grateful for them have been unquestionably joy-filled, even when we had no idea what to do next. Yet, somehow I always forget this and it takes my 3 year old eating her spicy enchiladas to remind me.
And then I see it, that this inherent gift for revelling in small blessings is how my children move throughout their day. They rejoice in a ladybug, they scream with delight when I suggest a bathtub, they get down in the dirt and dig without hesitation or practicality, and when it rains they always want to stand in it and get wet. How different life would be for all of us if, instead of seeing rain and feeling humdrum, we saw rain as an opportunity to soak life up even with the repercussions of chilly toes and soggy clothes.
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| Sister, the ultimate shampoo rinser-outer |
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| Judah was even ok with the fact that his "rain jacket" was a garbage bag. Now THAT is gratitude, my friends :) |
Somehow it seems that as we grow from child to adult we learn to be more and more dissatisfied, but oh what a gift to hold onto gratitude in all things, even the hard ones.
May your last few days of April be filled with small seeds of thanks that are making way for big miracles in your life!
xoxo
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