Grace and gratitude

We'd had a rough morning. Honestly, it was a rough morning after a rough two and a half weeks. The morning was an exhibit in some of my less superior moments as a mother. Let's just say it was me who ended up getting the time out punishment this time. One thing that made it especially difficult was the rain that was keeping us trapped inside. So as soon as some sun broke through, it was like a race to see which one of us could bolt to the door first. 

We headed out for a nice long walk along a creek and through a neighborhood. Even with the sun, fresh air, and cool breeze, Sofia was still fussy and frustrated with me. But we powered through. The walking helped me to take lots of nice deep breaths. 

As we pulled back up to our driveway, I noticed our neighbor, Nan, across the street out gardening and we stopped over to say a quick hello. Perhaps the accountable eye of a non-mommy-person helped quiet Sofia's irritability, because she became still, calm, and alert. With things finally running smoothly, the quick hello evolved into a relaxing little visit in Nan's garden, where Sofia got to help do some digging, weeding, and general floral admiring. There were new trees, tiny birds, and more colors and flowers than Sofia had probably ever seen before, all in a shaded welcoming environment. It was just what we both needed. 

After a while, we bid farewell to Nan and headed back home for lunch. I sat Sofia in her high chair and busied myself in the kitchen getting our food together. Still in a bit of a tizzy, I sat down with her and started to feed her some food. But she stopped, clasped her little hands together, and said, "God." She halted me in my little whirlwind of culinary stress to remind me pray. This is the beautiful thing about creating family rituals, she holds me to it even when I forget! 

And so I said, 

"Oh yes, Sofia! Thank you. We SHOULD pray. What shall we thank God for?"

"Cracker"

"Oh, ok. We'll thank God for crackers. What else would you like to thank God for?"

"Nan"

I couldn't have said it better myself. Daddy got us some yummy crackers this week, we were both very thankful for them. And Nan really was our rescue that morning. 

"Dear God, thank you so much for these yummy crackers and for all our food. And thank you, God, for our wonderful neighbor, Nan, and for the lovely time we had in her beautiful garden together. You placed such great neighbors into our lives and we are very grateful. Amen."

And there it was. Our day officially turned around one hundred eighty degrees, not just by Nan, but by the moment where Sofia helped us to show gratitude to God for Nan. After that, we were able to get along so much better, show so much more affection for each other, communicate our needs to each other so much more clearly. Sofia helped me to embrace an opportunity for heart change. 

Dear God, 

Thank you for blessing me with a little girl who reminds me and teaches me to be a more grateful person.

Amen.