Morning Praise

For the last week or two, when my feet touch the floor in the morning, my first response is thankfulness.

This isn't typical. Normally I stagger out of bed thinking such things as...

"What should I make for breakfast?"

"I am so tired...why didn't I go to bed earlier?"

"I should throw a load of laundry in the washer right away."

"The baby is crying. If I get her quick, maybe she won't wake the other children."

All these are practical mundane thoughts of a mother stuck on herself and her duties. I never thought to start my morning with gratitude that I was able to rise from my bed.

Until, several weeks ago, when I sat up in bed only to drop my head back on the pillow as the room started spinning. In a few minutes I tried again, finding that I could slowly rise to standing and the dizziness departed.

But the next morning the baby woke early. I leaped from the covers only to collapse onto the floor as the floor fought with the ceiling over which would stay under my feet.

And for two weeks, though I felt great all day, each morning I had to grip the bed's headboard until my head stopped spinning. Staggering around my bedroom wasn't an encouraging way to begin my day.

I figured my dizziness was the result of low blood pressure and anemia - two problems that I typically can keep on top of. But a few months ago I had finished my iron supplements and, weary of pill popping, I had quit taking iron and my prenatal vitamins (which my mid-wife said I should be taking since I'm nursing). A few days after going back onto my iron and prenatal vitamins the dizziness disappeared.

But I haven't forgotten.

So now, every morning, when I lift my head and all is right with my world, I find my heart singing "Thank you, Lord."

And I have found that praise is a much better way to start a day than reciting the "to-do" list.

I just wish I could appreciate God's gifts before they are taken away.