Day 32, Grateful Heart = Content Soul

Most moms discover early that bedtime can get pretty hairy when you have little kids. It was no exception in my house. The kids are cranky and you somehow have to get everyone clean and in bed feeling loved with their teeth brushed. Yeah, sooooo not fun. 

Micaela’s nocturnal seizures changed the girls’ bedtime routine for me dramatically. She started having them when she was two years old and by the end of the first year she had taken three ambulance rides and two air life flights. It was nasty business. Afterwards she wouldn’t come back to us completely for days. She would be lethargic and not very interactive. I look back on it now and realize that there were serious effects of her seizures that made it to where she was not really learning or growing forward anymore. There were so many nights that I put her to bed and wondered what the night would hold for us. I would hold my girls close, slow down the moments, sing them songs, and be so thankful for every breath. 

Gratefulness made bedtime sweet.

Gratefulness is also spoken about often in the Bible. God reminds us that gratefulness helps us find contentment, joy, peace, and a deeper relationship with Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV, says this best when it states, Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. It is so funny, neuroscientists have been filling articles upon articles about how our brain will filter out evidence, finding whatever we want to believe in, but God made sure we knew this for thousands of years. A grateful heart changes everything. 

Often we are plunging into unhealthy habits out of desperation to ease stress and find comfort or rest, but, gratefulness can allow you to see the richness of your life--the blessings, the provision, the beauty. I think it is one of the biggest keys to truly having a beautiful day, each and every day.

Even when you are putting toddlers to bed. 

Journal prompt: What are five things you are deeply grateful for today? Write each down and thank our Heavenly Father for them.

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