After picking up toys scatter all over the floor in the living room, dining room, kitchen, and formal sitting room, I vacuumed the floors because everywhere I stepped were crumbs from the weekend snacks and meals!
While vacuuming the kitchen floor, my pinky got caught between the vacuum handle and a cabinet. Immediate fiery pain shot through the tip of my offended pinky and I yowled "ow!!" The very next thought that crossed my mind was, "You should praise the Lord in all circumstances." My very conscious response to that thought was, "No way, Lord!! I'm not going to praise you for hurting my pinky! Really? Today, of all days?" At this point, I have already cleaned up 2 episodes of vomitting from my younger son, Nathan (by the way, his birthday is tomorrow!!!) as well as 2 overflowing massive diarrheas that required a bath afterwards and washing the clothes and blanket that I had laid him on top of.
So as I kept vacuuming, fuming a little bit in my rebellion and absolute refusal to be grateful that I had hurt my pinky, the following thoughts went through my head. I had to share it:
Why should I be grateful that I hurt my pinky? Well, I am grateful that I have a pinky to hurt, and that all that happened was that it got squished. Somewhere, some person may be having his/her pinky amputated for whatever reason: Diabetes, accident, torture. Maybe some person not only lost their pinky, but their whole hand or arm. Or maybe their pinky was resorbed because of leprosy.
Thinking of leprosy and diabetes, I am thankful that I have the sensation of pain. I am grateful that the pain is an early warning that I have done something to my body that could cause damage to it and should not be repeated, if possible.
And so I am truly thankful and grateful to the Lord for the pain that I experienced when my pinky got squashed.
And on those same lines, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to stay home with my sick little baby boy; that I have a wonderful son whom I love and who is so cute and adorable; that Nathan is so obedient and loving; that he has been healthy the majority of his life and this is just a temporary illness. Thank-you, Lord. Thank-you, Jesus. Thank-you, my Father in Heaven. Thank-you for all the blessings that you have poured on me.
