This morning was a little crazy. Well, not crazy, but just a busy morning. Bryan missed the bus, so we had to drive him to school and then it was go go go taking Olivia to preschool and grocery shopping for dinner group and visiting some girls from church and then picking Olivia up from preschool and... you get the idea.
It was after I finished my grocery shopping and I was loading my bags into the car that I was struck by how tired I was and how big and pregnant I was feeling. It was only 8 am (when nobody in the world goes shopping), so I had parked as close to the front of the store as possible without being in a handicap spot. And still, I found myself wishing someone would come and take my now empty cart so I wouldn't have to walk it all the way back up to the store. (I know. "All the way back up" from the 3rd parking space in the lot. I was tired, ok?) My wish didn't come true, so I closed the trunk and started the five second walk up to the store to return my cart. And as I walked, I thought to myself, "Self, there are a lot of worse problems to have than being pregnant and having to walk your cart back up to the store."
On my way home from the grocery store I noticed that traffic ahead of me was pretty backed up. It was close to one of the elementary schools and I assumed that it was just morning drop-off traffic, but as I got closer I saw a firetruck in the intersection up ahead. I took a side road home to avoid the traffic and was surprised by the view I had. As I reached the first intersection on the side road, I looked down the road to my left and had a clear view of what was blocking traffic one street over. A firetruck was parked in the middle of the intersection, along with some other emergency vehicles. And right in the middle of the intersection was a car... completely upside down.
I could only look for a second before I had to keep going, but in that moment my heart went out to whoever was involved in that awful accident. As I drove away I said a prayer that everyone would be okay. I wondered on how the car even came to be upside down, since it's not a very fast or crazy road. And then my own thought came back to me again. "Self, there are a lot of worse problems to have than being pregnant and having to walk your cart back up to the store."
I thought about my own little moment of self-pity and the upside down car throughout the day. And I thought about it again tonight when someone I love so dearly called to tell me about a hard and heartbreaking experience they're going through. I got off the phone and came downstairs and kissed my husband and told him how blessed I feel. I told him how grateful I am for my problems. That after having a miscarriage and struggling with the heartbreak of not being pregnant for over a year, I'm sometimes uncomfortable now because my baby and belly are growing so big. That I've been staying up late to work on sewing projects and organizing some publicity for my book because I have so many amazing opportunities. For the past few weeks I've carried this thought with me--that the problems I have are good problems to have--and I've been both humbled and surprised at what an impact that thought has had on my life.
To those of you out there with your own good problems, hang in there. Laugh at yourself sometimes. Know how blessed you are. And to those of you out there right now who are dealing with the big stuff, who's cars are upside down in the middle of the road, to you I send hugs and love and all the blessings in the world. My heart breaks for you. My love reaches out to you. You are known and you are loved. I hope you feel that love every single day.
7 comments:
Yes, that particular heart-breaking situation has been making me really thankful for all the blessings I have and my own little problems that are so not a big deal.
Yesterday was our first payday of the school year. At lunch some of the teachers were grumbling about deductions for taxes, health insurance, etc. Not that I think teachers are overpaid...this is the 5th year in a row that our checks are smaller due to furlough days...but still, we have good jobs with beautiful classrooms and great students. After a bit more of the conversation, I said, "Yeah, and these are all First World problems." As in, we don't live in the Third World. We have clean water and houses and classrooms and books and school buses and health care and all that amazing stuff.
You are so right about people going through problems like a car upside down in the road - both literally and in other ways. So, so true. I'm so grateful for my "problems." Thanks for a good post.
This is a great post Katie. It is so true, I often find myself worrying over or getting annoyed over the silliest things when there are such bigger things in the world. Thanks for the reminder of how blessed we really are. I always try to say a little prayer when I see a car accident or see a firetruck rushing off somewhere too because it would be so easy to be annoyed with the traffic but someone's life is changing because of that accident. Thanks for the reminder to always do that. Love you friend! :)
Our family calls those "quality problems" - thanks for the reminder.
I was walking to a lunch appt. today and began mentally lamenting how much weight I've gained since my mastectomy; and I gained weight from chemo after a lumpectomy 11 years ago. I was thinking about the annoyance of the weight gain---from cancer! I literally stopped in my tracks and breathed a prayer of gratitude that the only downside to my cancer has been weight gain. What a perspective change I needed!
This is a fantastic post and SO TRUE .. there is always someone out there in the world worse off than you! It sure is a humbling thought, God is good ALL the time .. even when it doesn't feel like it sometimes .. you ARE blessed - thanks for the reminder!!
Great post. Such a good reminder. Thanks!
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