I made the mistake of taking advantage of my day off and sleeping in until 11:30am on Monday. Which was great when I woke up. I felt refreshed and ended up getting a lot done on Monday. But when bedtime rolled around, I wasn't the slightest bit tired.
I didn't end up falling asleep until after 3:00am. And my alarm goes off at 5:30.
Needless to say, I was exhausted and not in a particularly chipper mood as I rolled out of bed. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower to let the water warm up.
But when I got into the shower...the water was anything but hot.
I crawled back into bed for a few more minutes then attempted to make myself look slightly awake and do something with my (unwashed) hair. By 7:00am, I had somehow made myself look slightly decent and stalked off to work.
This morning, when I woke up, I walked into the bathroom and as I turned the shower on I mumbled to myself, "It better be hot."
And then I stopped and I caught myself.
I allowed myself to be in a foul mood for a good bit of Tuesday because I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep and I couldn't have a warm shower. I was so irritated about being slightly inconvenienced by my lack of sleep and hot shower that I completely forgot to be grateful for the countless other blessings I have.
Like the fact that, even though I had to get up at 5:30 to go to it, I at leave have a job to go to. That pays really well. That allows me to live in a warm apartment in winter. That usually has hot water.
It's really easy for me to get wrapped up in my sense of entitlement. I'm used to having all of these things each day like a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, and food to eat, that I begin to think I'm entitled to them whenever I want. I begin to think I'm entitled to my modern conveniences and I get irritated when I'm not able to have them, instead of being grateful for what I do have.
Because even when I get less than three hours of sleep and can't take a hot shower, I still have infinitely more than so many people in this world. I have been truly blessed by a good God who loves me more than I can ever know. And He has chosen to bless me with things that I don't necessarily need to live, and I am grateful for His blessings.
But I am also grateful for days like yesterday, where I am stripped of a few of my conveniences because they remind me to be thankful for what I've been given.
What have you thanked God for today?
----------Like what you're reading? Consider liking me on Facebook or following me on Twitter!
The post On gratitude and entitlement. appeared first on Shades of Shayes.
