1,000 Nails

Today my friend Lindsay led our weekly staff devotional.  It was very good!  One of the things she shared is from a woman, Ann Voskamp, who found herself quite discontent with life, particuarly its busyness.  She decided to do something about her spirit of discontent.  She decided to drive out nails of discontent and to replace them with nails of thanksgiving.  We all know that you can't stop a habit; you must replace it.

A few hours after this devotional, I had that flushed face, knot in the gut, discontent feeling.  I'd vented to my husband, who both has my back and tells me the truth.  I gained a lot of clarity from that 10-minute venting session.  But I still had the knot and flushed face.

So, I started my list of 1,000 nails:  (I'll probably never complete the list; I'm really good at not finishing projects.)

I am thankful:

1.       For a husband and sister who hear my venting and love me anyway

2.       For big, blue eyes full of love

3.       For a baby’s giggle

4.       For a Nana whom I trust to watch my kids more than I trust myself

5.       That I get to influence lives…for a living

6.       For the gift of traveling—seeing, experiencing, and making memories

7.       For photographs

8.       That at least for now, my kids think the safest place in the world is my arms

9.       For a husband who knows what it’s like to do my job, where I do my job, with whom I do my job

10.   For an engagement ring that is more perfect than what I would’ve chosen myself

As I've said before on this blog, I especially stink at letting things go.  So, I'm reading this list over and over again--every time the pink flush returns to my jawbones.