Discouraged or Thankful? That is the Question.

It's been one of those days.
We all have them.
Sometimes it just seems ours pound us relentlessly. It would be so easy to be discouraged yet we pick up and carry on.  We muster up enough gusto and stamina to get through our situations.  I am very thankful for family who help out in whatever ways they can.  Today, Mom has done laundry and dishes, cleaned around the house, and Papa came to get the kiddos for a last hooray before school. 

How did your day start?

My day began with a quick trip to the doctor to get my soft cast on my broke foot re-wrapped.  I came home to one kid still sleeping and John and the youngest were watching TV.  Soon after I came back, I heard John calling, "Amanda! Where's the bathroom? How do I get to the bathroom?"  I went to the living room and found him screening the walls, moving his head around the room in a panic.  I helped him to the bathroom as he quizzed me.  "Who's house is this? Where are we at?"

After I told him it was our house and we had lived here for over four years, he turned to our 6-year old son and asked him, "Who's house is this?" 

Gabriel told him, "It's our house, Daddy."

In almost disbelief, John chose to lay on our bed, asking "Who's room is this? Who's bed is this. Are you kidding me?"

I called mom and asked her to come over to help get the kids dressed and such.  John asked if she was coming to take us to our house. 

Matthew 6:27 NIV
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

How do you even respond?

You could panic.  Likely, it wouldn't do any good.  We all calmly dealt with the unusual morning we were presented with.  Our kids are terrific.  They really adapt and deal with our unique situations better than most adults would.  What would you do if your 37 year old spouse suddenly woke up disoriented to the point that he or she didn't recognize their surroundings?  Thankfully this doesn't happen often.  But, it happens.

The boys loved John, hugged him, and we tried to assure him that this was indeed our house and reorient him as best we could.

Philippians 4:6 International Standard Version

Never worry about anything. Instead, in every situation let your petitions be made known to God through prayers and requests, with thanksgiving.

 

Why choose Thankfulness?

Why not? Does it really do any good to be discouraged?  Try to focus on the positives.  These are the precise moments that make us realize that we must cherish the good times,

This week's quick trip to Universal

the good days, the good moments, the fleeting precious moments that we can experience and embrace as a family. 

For John, it is important that we do things with the kids that they can look back on and know that he tried to have good memories with them, even if he is unable to remember them.  He and I took a vacation a year and a half ago that he really doesn't remember.  Yet, I know the effort he made to make sure that we had a getaway just for us.  Our children will have memories and photos to look back on after the images are no longer in John's recollection. 

Our spontaneous trips provide an escape and a vital key to him believing that he is trying his best to show them he loves them, wants them to know that he cares, and put forth the effort when possible.

Thankfully not every day is like today.  Not every day is a cake walk.  Thankfully we have good experiences that we can cherish and we can hold onto the unconditional love that we have.  We are blessed with a great family.

Whether your family if filled with members who have special needs or just average folks, love them, cherish them, and tell them how much they mean. 

I Thessalonians 5: 15-18 NIV

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. 16. Rejoice always, 17. pray continually, 18. give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.