Our Grateful Life

Rubber bands…

Yesterday afternoon, I had another date with the 2,000 rubber bands. The treatment went much faster this time but it hurt much more. I described the pain, the sores on my legs and the itching from last time and the nurse feels I might be allergic to the laser.

Well, that’s just great since I’ve had to sell a kidney to pay for this thing.

Regardless, I won’t stop the treatments but let’s just say I’m not feeling as grateful for this as I was last time.

Of course, that’ll change pretty quickly when 2 weeks from now I’m not shaving and my legs are still smooth and pretty.

After my appointment, I went home and did almost nothing. My body generally felt like I had the flu so I wasn’t exactly up to major work. Which was fine because I got to watch “Knocked Up”. Minus their gratuitous use of the f word (seriously, does it make more of an impact if you say it 4 times in one sentence?), I enjoyed the movie.

Here are my thoughts:

1. We all need a catalyst for change – now most of us don’t need a baby but some do likely need something that huge. Regardless, each of us has that moment in our lives when we realize it’s not all about us. I am learning that more and more every day. Each step we take along this journey shows me again how small I am and how large God is. I am humbled by the people in my life: my husband, my boss, our CEO, Linda, mom, dad, the other women telling their stories on their blogs. The list could be endless. These amazing people face challenges every day I can’t even fathom. And my biggest problem is not getting what I want exactly when I want it? How pathetically self-centered I am.

2. Sometimes the blessing is our biggest fear – The woman in the movie, Allison, was told by almost everyone to “get rid of it”. Her own mother even said she needed to focus on her career and have a “real baby” later in life. Thankfully, that’s not the choice she made and at the end of the movie as the credits are rolling we see pictures of that beautiful baby and the family she created simply by being conceived. My life is the opposite of that. We waited until the time was right for us. Only to discover we have to wait some more. The blessing is that I suspect I would never have learned how to be grateful for all the things I already have without being forced to wait for something I desperately want. I literally thanked God for 80’s rock music the other day. “Urgent” by Foreigner came on the radio just as I passed the merges of death. I turned it up and sang to my heart’s content. How fun! And what a moment of celebration. God deserved the praise for that precious moment and He deserves the praise for changing my heart so I could focus on all the wonderful things He’s already provided.

So if you’re out of something to do and you can turn off your ears every time they drop the f-bomb, then I recommend the movie. It wasn’t a fabulous cinematic triumph but it was a nice way to take my mind off my burned, throbbing legs.