grumbling & goodness

Lately, we don't have a whole lot of family time. Shawn leaves for work before dawn and comes home well past all our bedtimes -when he comes home at all. If I start to feel sad about moving away from here I simply think back to when I last saw my husband in the daylight.

I could (and often do) grumble about the difficulties of these last couple of years when I know I should be counting my blessings. We've had three children since we moved here and Shawn was present for every birth. That alone is huge in this military life! We are all healthy, we have a beautiful home, we don't worry about how the next meal or the water bill will be paid for and we have a truly amazing extended family. I often quote Philippians 2:14 to my kids reminding them to "do all things without grumbling" and just as often I realize I need to be reminding myself. There's no way around it -time apart stinks, deployments are hard, long days are exhausting- but through it all we have learned to take what time we get together and use it well. The Bible doesn't just tell us what not to do (grumble) but also, "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor 10:31) It's why we plant seeds in a garden we are leaving behind. It's why we bought that old sailboat. It's why we spent Saturday afternoon at the park even though the porch really needs to be painted. It's why I'm not angry with my husband for calling tonight to say he will not be coming home -again. It's why we make the most of those long weekdays with friends for play dates, shared babysitters, field trips and picnics. I can fight, complain and grumble my way through or I can choose contentment. I can dwell on injustice or inconvenience or any number of irritations, or I can choose to be grateful. Amidst so much stress, we find peace (and a whole lotta fun). Truly, we have much more goodness in our lives than anything else.

"He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."
— John Piper , Don't Waste Your Life