The Wadded Up Dishcloth

This may just look like a photo of a wadded up dishcloth. But it isn't. 

See, a wadded up dishcloth just happens to be one of my biggest pet peeves, and usually sometimes when Brian is done using it, this is how I find it. I walked into the kitchen the other day and found the dishcloth as pictured above, crumpled up and definitely not drying properly. I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to make a smart aleck comment, but something stopped me. It was in that moment that I realized that I had a choice of how the rest of our evening was going to go. I could vent my frustration, which would only make him frustrated, and two frustrated parents are bound to equal three frustrated kids (really, it's simple mathematics). Or, I could shift my perspective.
 
In that split second I realized something. I realized that a believe-the-best perspective didn't see a wadded up dishcloth, it saw a clean kitchen, dishes washed by my servant-hearted husband (without me asking, I might add!) When I should have been grateful, I was about to be spiteful.

In a Post a few weeks ago I talked about gratitude and how much it impacts our perspective. Nowhere is this more true than in relationships. Anyone who has been married for any length of time knows that so much about marriage is in the little things. The smallest misunderstandings often cause the biggest arguments, and the daily, seemingly insignificant demonstrations of love are more vital to a healthy connection than we often realize. They are also the most taken for granted. When we have a heart focused on being grateful, we see things differently... the little things aren't so overlooked and the irritations  often pale in comparison. A disregarded dishcloth seems quite insignificant in light of a fully cleaned kitchen. 

Throughout this Thanksgiving season there is so much to be grateful for, and I hope that I can continually view my circumstances through a lens of gratitude. Not just the big and obvious, like my faith and family, but the smaller, more obscure blessings that are so often overlooked. And hopefully in the process continue to recognize clean kitchens amongst the wadded up washcloths of life. :)