Trash days are now Tuesday and Friday.

I saw a sign in HomeGoods the other day that read, "Start each day with a grateful heart." It's been an unusual season of change lately in the Long house, much to pray about. For example, did you know they changed our trash pick up days?  Nearly five years of Monday and Thursday and all the sudden I'm being forced to put the cans out on Tuesday and Friday. If you're thinking that doesn't sound like a big deal you'd be right. But I am an impatient prayer. When I ask God to settle something for me I want results right away. Opening up your community newspaper to find a change in your weekly routine is like adding insult to injury. But still I sit. Waiting. Perhaps that's why the sign in the store struck me so. It was for me a quiet reminder to be patient and in my waiting to be grateful. In fact, the same community newspaper which recently rocked my trash-disposing world also included an article on dealing with change, reminding its readers to stay active and remain optimistic.  I've always thought of gratefulness as the Christian answer to optimism. It's not just seeing the glass (or trash can) as half full, but praising God for whatever the glass is half full of. "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24.  It is the Lord's day, every part of it from the time we rise in the morning to our rest in the evening. I am grateful for that, that His arms are around me during each struggle, each celebration. So whether it's Monday or Tuesday, I'll take the trash out like I'm supposed to, try to be patient, and remember all that I have to be grateful for in the meantime. XOXO...Kelly