So there I was at church last night, sharing my joy that my kitchen is making progress. I was making slight complaining noises that it won't be ready by Thanksgiving and sharing the difficulties of home remodeling, saying something that in hindsight sounds so trite (something about how difficult it has been to live in the dust of a construction zone and without access to appliances like an oven). A man who has been attending church just the last few weeks was standing in our circle listening. Afterwards, I asked some questions about him and found out he was evicted from his rat infested apartment this month after being laid off from work. He quickly found a part time job as a cook at a restaurant and is now looking for another part time job to fill in the financial holes. He's currently living at the Brother Francis shelter. He has been attending First Covenant church for about 3 years and has started attending our evening services so he can get an extra spiritual boost since his difficult month began. He was thrilled when some church members invited him to their home for Thanksgiving dinner --


Now if that doesn't put things into perspective. I felt like such a weasel "complaining" about my brand new kitchen (like poor me). Meanwhile this man is having serious issues. He summed up "it's been a tough month."

So it's hard to complain now. I'm terribly thankful for so much. I won't even complain about the broken washing machine or Greg's truck that wouldn't start this morning and is awaiting towing to a nearby shop. Seriously -- it put so much into perspective to think about how so many of my problems are really blessings -- I have a washing machine (it may be broken, but I have one, and it will get fixed), same with the truck. Same with the kitchen. Thanks to God for the blessings I do have.