Why am I Surprised?

Why am I so surprised that God knew just what I needed this weekend?

Saturday I was feeling exasperated, out of patience, at my ropes' end, helpless, hopeless, and full of self pity. Attractive, right?

Work has been incredibly stressful due to recent events at the hospital. All of us in administration have been operating in crisis mode, knee-jerk reactions, bottom lines, and damage control. My hours have been long, the work endless. The projects and committees continue to form.

My body has been tiring, slowing. It has been getting more difficult to help Bella get dressed, get on and off the potty, play. Sleep is elusive.

And, to top it off, Charles' unexpected injury which put him on the bench for several days.

I just felt like I couldn't be pulled any more and I felt like a disappointment.

That night, Charles felt well enough to keep Bella while I went to a women's outreach event with the girls from church.

Sometimes, all you need is a little perspective. The women's shelter facilitator came to speak to us about the ladies that come to the drop-in center, their struggles, their stories, and their successes.

Abuse.
Desperation.
Homelessness.
Abandonment.
Addiction.
Their children taken away.

Perspective.
God knew just what I needed to yank me from my hole. Surprise, surprise.

I quickly took stock of all the wonderful things in our life and counted all my blessings as I put together care packages of socks, deodorant, shampoo, etc for women who had real struggles.

My mountain turned back into an anthill -- maybe even smaller.