A bad day or a day of blessings?
Recently I had one of those days.
Nothing was going as planned and every little thing was taking longer than it should.
I needed to deliver some journals to a boutique that carries them, but I had delay after delay before I even got out of the house.
Then I hit construction traffic. An HOUR of construction traffic.
By the time I’d been on the road for three hours, my patience was wearing pretty thin.
And then I heard a pop.
I figured I’d run over something, but when I glanced in my rearview mirror, I couldn’t see anything.
A few moments later, though, I heard that unmistakable sound.
A flat tire.
Seriously? NOW? Just a few miles from my destination?
I managed to pull off the interstate as far as I could, and sure enough, my tire was flat.
After arranging for a tow truck, I called my sister, Lori, and asked her to let Mom know I wouldn’t be picking her up for dinner as we’d planned.
Naturally, I gave Lori the rundown of everything that had gone wrong that day.
Her response?
“Ah, you’ve had a day of blessings.”
Blessings?
Hmm.
The thing was, Lori wasn’t being sarcastic. She was giving me a gentle nudge.
We’ve both had training in how our beliefs and the things we choose to focus on shape our experience of life. And she was reminding me of a tool I knew perfectly well how to use.
Gratitude.
I’d just been so caught up in everything that had gone wrong that I didn't think to use it.
So I decided to give myself a healthy dose of blessings.
I was safe and no one was hurt. Big relief.
And it had been years since I’d needed a tow truck. There was a time in my life when breakdowns were practically routine. I couldn’t afford anything but cars that were already on their last legs, usually with used tires to match.
How fortunate I was that this was now a rare occurrence!
The tow truck arrived fairly quickly, and the fellow helping me was really nice.
I had a spare tire to get me home. (Something a lot of newer cars don’t even have.)
It was still daylight.
And I had people in my life who cared enough about me to drop everything and come help if I needed them.
The more blessings I looked for, the more I found.
By the time I was driving home, with the cool evening air coming through the open sunroof and the radio playing, I was feeling pleasantly happy.
Just a couple of hours earlier, I’d been frustrated and annoyed, with a day of setbacks and roadblocks.
The only thing that had changed was what I was paying attention to.
That's the beauty of gratitude.
It’s a tool we can pull out right in the middle of a lousy day.
You don't have to pretend everything is wonderful. Sometimes things really are frustrating, disappointing, or downright difficult.
Yet, we can gently remind ourselves that what’s going wrong is rarely the whole story.
And sometimes, that little shift in perspective can completely change how life feels.
So here’s a question I’m asking myself this week, and perhaps you’d like to try it too:
What blessings might I be overlooking because I’m focused on what’s challenging?
And if you ever find yourself sitting beside the interstate with a flat tire, I hope you’ll remember Lori’s words.
You just might be having a day of blessings. ❤️
With love,
Julie
I can acknowledge what’s difficult
and still choose to notice what’s good.
What We Loved This Week
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