Small Success: God has done great things for me!

Some days, this is an easy column; a kid got an A, we cleaned out a closet, I made a dinner that no one loathed! Some days I think, man, there is so much stuff to do, how can I say once again, "Yay yay yay you!" about life, and not sound like a tired cheerleader?

By reminding myself, Jesus had splinters. He knew the pains of the daily chores, of the schedule, of the messiness of dealing with more than a few minds that didn't mirror his own. He stretched out his arms and his legs to let us know that he knew how hard hands work, and how little that work would be appreciated even by those who received it on a regular basis. He let his heart be pierced as ours is pierced, when we suffer pains both physical and otherwise from others so we would know, even this, is to be forgiven, to be endured out of love. Life is full of trials, papercuts, bills, mice, car issues, repairs done with duct tape that shouldn't be, and repairs not done with duct tape that should, weeds, cold snaps, bugs, stomach flu, toilets that need plunging, hair to pluck, pounds to lose--and then we get to the true suffering, kids who fight, estranged friends, prayers not said, love not given, wrong words, late nights, early mornings, missed buses and people who call because as messy, obnoxious and difficult as life can be, their crosses loom all the larger and heavier. Why do we do Small Success? Because the goal is to grow in gratitude, for all of it. "God has done great things for me; Holy is His name" is the theme of this year.

And so, I give thanks for the ten new pounds I need to lose from 2015; they were well earned in a year of feasts. Now (in this house), we begin a year of fasts. I give thanks for the bills because we have much, we had and have much to celebrate, and we are warm, we are whole, we are here. I give thanks for all the stuff crammed into every day because to not have all these people in my life, would leave a void I could never fill.

Rejoice. We've celebrated another week of errands, homework, bath times, bedtimes and more. G0d has done great things for me; holy is His name. Happy Small Success Thursday!

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