Being Humbled By a Child

Last week my daughter said something to me that left me feeling very humbled. I realized how ungrateful I was being and how incredibly blessed I truly am.

Let me set the stage for you: We were staying in a travel trailer that my Grandma has on her property. This trailer kinda has a funky smell and it isn't used very often so it's dusty.

I had been telling my Husband that I wouldn't want to live in a trailer. That it would be incredibly hard and I honestly wouldn't like it. The bathroom is small, the oven is smaller than a regular oven, basically everything is small. The whole thing shakes when someone moves, the toilets are hard to flush, and the kids can't run around like they want to. There are many reasons, but I personally wouldn’t enjoy it with 5 children. I know there are nice ones out there, but this particular one wasn't very nice.

Just after I got done talking about it with my husband my daughter walks up to me and says, "Mom, this trailer would be like a mansion to a homeless person." I responded, "Yes, you are probably right." It was like God himself came down and smacked me upside the head to remind me how blessed I am.

Her comment left me pondering how ungrateful I probably sounded. How blessed I am and how I need to recognize the little things I take for granted every day. It also made me not want to complain about my circumstances. I thought about how it would feel to be homeless and how it would feel to not know where the next meal for our family would come from. 

Her comment has stayed with me all week. What words of wisdom from my beautiful, caring, and wise 7 year old.

This has led me to think about some thoughts that have had a powerful effect on how much gratitude I feel in my life. Maybe some of these will resonate with you today and help you recognize how blessed you are. 

• Did you once pray for the things you have now?

• Most likely someone else wishes they had what you had.

• If you don't have to worry about buying the basic necessities of life you are lucky.

• If you don't have to worry about where you're next meal will come from you are extremely fortunate. (41 million Americans will wonder where their next meal will come from)

• If you have indoor plumbing you are better off than 60% of the world

• If you don't live in extreme poverty you are better off then 9.2% of the world. (About 42 million people in the US live in poverty which is about 7.5% of the population of the US)

• If you have the ability to read this you are extremely blessed to have an education and an electronic device.

There are many many others but these ones should get you thinking about each person who lives on this planet and how much you have been blessed with. It can be a mind blowing experience. 

Have a Blessed Day,

Christy and the family