So tonight my wedding ring fell off. Somewhere between running on the treadmill in my dad's basement and going home to get in the shower I lost my wedding band. I spent the last few hours looking for it to no avail. Tearing apart my bags, levi's bags, and my car. Going back to my dad's house, searching the ground. Nothing. Boo. Please pray that it turns up with the new day. I'm really bummin about this. Anyway, on to gratitude day 4.
Write a short message of thanks for some of the “negative” things in your life.
I have been thinking ahead to this post since I first saw it on the calendar last week. I have a lot of "negative" things to choose from, i guess, but who doesn't? Today I am going to focus on some of the negatives of relationships, and why I can be thankful for them.
My parent's marriage was far from perfect. There was a lot of fighting in my family, though I don't think my parents (or my family in general) were more unhappy than most others, I think we just expressed it more loudly than most would! My parents argued a lot, mostly about money. I remember when I was in high school the day that my mom told me she wanted to practice loving my father more fully, she wanted to put him first and speak lovingly to him. She worked really hard on it, and I noticed a great change in their marriage after that. But, in a way, I am thankful for the loud, fighting family I come from. It has taught me a few things. 1- That I don't want my family to be a fighting one. Matt and I decided early on in our relationship that we didn't want to scream and yell at each other when we fight. We haven't always followed through on that, but we strive all the time to be "better fighters". 2- Expressing your feelings and hurts is a really good thing. Even if my family didn't do a great job on their delivery, I can say that they rarely held their feelings in. This is a positive trait I have brought into my own marriage.
I am also thankful for the arguments that Matt and I have. When I say argument, I don't mean to imply angry fights, name calling, or anything of that nature. Instead, most of our arguments begin with, "Hey ______, there's something I need to talk to you about." While we both try to be understanding of eachother, the thing I am most grateful for from our arguments is what comes after. If we never aired our issues, we would be living superficially. An authentic, genuine relationship requires that you care enough to "get into it". If I didn't care about bettering my marriage, then I wouldn't even bother, because discussions (or arguments) often take time and energy when both are in short supply. But I am grateful that Matt and I both want to put in the work on our marriage, I am grateful that we work on listening and understanding, and I am grateful for the growth that occurs through our rough spots.
What "negative" things in life are you grateful for? We all have tough moments that have cause growth, doors shut in our face that shook a new one open... take time to find something positive in even your hardest time.
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In other news, Matt and I ran Week 1, Day 2 of C25K. I was a bit sore in the calves from Monday's run, but actually feel better now than I did before the run. I also tried to do extra stretching before and after. Hopefully that helps!
ktw
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