Meet Haley Dumpe, my delightful friend and guest blogger. Haley is a young wife and mom whose countenance shines with the presence of Christ in spite of Multiple Sclerosis. I know you’ll find encouragement in her words. Please leave a comment and check out her website “Letting Go.”
http://haleylettinggo.blogspot.com
Haley Dumpe, Guest Blogger
Multiple Sclerosis is not who I am. I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. I love teaching, learning, creating, encouraging, and spending time with precious friends and family members. Jesus is the very breath I take. He is my Savior, my strength and my song. Posted on my blog are my honest thoughts on how MS does not define me, but it did change my life forever. Life is so hard, but God is so good. I pray you’ll find encouragement for your heart in my post.
Confession: I struggle with jealousy.
My kids were home two days last week because of the snow and ice. I am tired. Don’t get me wrong–it has been really fun! I am so glad my kids were home because of snow days. We didn’t have much snow, but it was enough for them. They threw snowballs, built a mini snowman, and even practiced sledding down the hill. However, as I watched them from my wheel chair, I became really bitter. I looked past all the many blessings and just looked at everything I did not have and wanted. I tried to make a list of things I could be thankful for instead of wallowing in my pity (although I really wanted to wallow).
My Gratitude List
- I have a wheelchair that allows me to go outside and watch the kids play in the snow.
- I have children who wanted me to come out with them and waited patiently until I got in my chair to play in the snow.
- My children were healthy enough to run and play outside, and most of the time, they had a really good time with each other.
- My husband is very hard-working and has a good job that provides us with a house that keeps us warm on a cold day.
- Our house also has big doors for wheelchairs and ramps… it even has cabinets with drawers that pull out and are easily accessible! Our house really is amazing… talk about God‘s provision!
Sometimes I get so tired of watching life from the wheelchair, and I want to stand up and do! I have so many things to be thankful for, but I can quickly look past that and focus on all the things that I want or think would make my life better.
Isn’t it easy to get focused on all the things we want instead of all the blessings that we DO have?
I play a game with my kids called “Count Your Blessings.” They roll their eyes (especially my 10-year-old), but begrudgingly they play it and end up in a better mood. Each person only has three seconds to name a blessing. I normally keep them going until I see smiles on their faces instead of grumpy looks and arguing that could ensue.
Guidance for Gratitude
In Philippians 4:8, God’s Word tells us “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” In Colossians 3:2, it says to “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
Whether we are with our spouse, our children, or coworkers, we choose the tone for our life. We choose our own attitude and our focus. Are we going to choose an attitude of gratitude or an attitude of grumbling and complaining? Who do we reflect to others? Do we reflect Jesus Christ or ourselves? My prayer for each of us is that as we start each day, we make a conscious decision to set our mind on things above and begin to look more like Christ as we reflect Him to others.
Won’t you share a comment? Haley would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading,
Jeannie
Bible verses are from ESV.