(New Years kiss)
2009 was a good year for us. We got comfortable being a family of 6. We became homeowners again. Aaron started 1st grade, which was much more of a lifestyle change for us than Kindergarten. We went on our first vacation away from our kids......... This year had many, many more ups than downs. It was a good year.
Of all the wonderful events of the year, the greatest blessing I received was learning to enjoy life, right now, just as it is.
For as long as I can remember I have been looking forward to whatever lies next. Looking forward to the weekend, or summer vacation, or being a grade older. Looking forward to getting my drivers license, graduating high school, or moving out on my own. Looking forward to getting married, settling down, starting a family. But once I got to the next stage, I wasn't content. I started looking forward once again.
Sometime around the middle of the year I found myself once again, looking forward to yet another baby (no, I wasn't pregnant) and looking forward to our next home and dreaming about how many bedrooms it would have and what the layout would be. The more I prayed for all I hoped for, the more it seemed was taken away from me. I have learned in the past that all of my prayers are indeed heard and answered, so I finally asked Heavenly Father what I was missing. What was I supposed to be learning from all of this? Then the answer came.
I needed to enjoy my life and all of the amazing blessings I have now.
I really do have an amazing life. I have a husband who is a worthy priesthood holder, a wonderful and thoughtful man who cares more about my needs than his own. He is a good father to our children and he expects much, causing them to step out of their comfort zone and accomplish more than they would otherwise.
I have 4 beautiful, healthy, smart children who are growing up to be such fun people who I know will contribute much to society. We are surrounded by family who loves us, both who we see on a regular basis and those who we get to see on special occasions. We have great friends who we love as if family. We have the restored gospel in our lives and a temple in our town. We own a home that meets all of our needs.
I have so many blessings, I don't need to wish for anything more.
In all honestly I didn't even realize I was doing it, but the way I live day to day has changed. I now get excited about plans Nick has to improve our home instead of thinking it will be a waste of time and money since we aren't going to live here forever anyway. I am enjoying our kids more everyday because I'm not also thinking about the next one that might come. Instead I am loving each stage in their life to the fullest. I am thinking of ways to enrich our lives in our current situation, rather than thinking about all of the things I will do when we have more money. I am realizing exactly how blessed we are and how much we have. Much more than we really need, and much more than many have. We are so very blessed.
If we live in this house for the rest of our lives, I can be happy.
If we never make any more money than we do now, I can be happy.
If I never have anymore children, I can be happy.
(This last one was the hardest for me to come to terms with, and I don't know for sure that we are done, but if we are. I can be happy!)
Once I stopped asking for more and started enjoying what I had, even more blessings began pouring in. Our Father in Heaven knows what we need better than we know ourselves.
2009 was a good year. It helped me to slow down and take inventory on what really matters. I can't wait to see what 2010 will bring.
5 comments:
It's a good perspective for us all to have. I think we naturally start looking toward the next thing instead of enjoying the moment we are in.
I felt much the same way at the beginning of this new year, especially about the baby thing, and have been so much happier now that I am content with where I am and enjoying it as much as possible.
My favorite posts of yours are when you are being insightful. This was the best. I am home from Church today, not feeling well, but after reading your post, I feel spiritually uplifted like I listened to a Conference talk. You are a wise young woman and the subject of your post is the true key to happiness. I have known a long time of this fact, but I still struggle with enjoying the moment and "everything will be perfect when ....". I am better at it than I used to be, and being older helps too. This was a great reminder, thanks.
Grama would be soooo proud of you Chele. You have grown up to be such a smart, caring, beautiful person. And your kids are pretty darn cute too!
~Auntie Kelley
Ili and I recently talked about this and how our minds are, more often than not, in the future, in anticipation, in planning and in thinking "things will be better when"...but you're absolutely right we need to also take in the todays. Hopefully having a baby will help with this because I really want to cherish each little stage and not miss things because I'm planning too much for their next stages, this will hopefully translate into my own life as well. Thanks for this post!
Seriously Girl I love you !!! You say everything so perfectly. I honestly love love reading and looking at your blog. You are such a inspiration to me . You truly enjoy every single thing about life and being a Mom. People like you make me want to be better . It's true :}
P.S I love what you guys have done to your home. Seriously it looks so good !!!
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