Seeing Life Through a Cracked Windshield

       Recently, I felt like I had one of those "Terrible, Horrible, No Good,Very Bad Days".  It started first thing in the morning and just kept rolling with one thing after another.  It seemed the harder I tried the worse things got. I discovered leaks under my sink, I fell hard while running, sat in traffic for 2.5 hours just to name a few.  One of the incidents was a flying object on the freeway that happened to hit directly on the driver's side of my windshield.  By morning it had spread and was directly in my vision line.  It was crazy how it altered my view.  For the first few days I could lean to one side to avoid it and still see, but that did not last long.  Pretty soon when I drove all I could see was the crack. That crack became a constant reminder of the many frustrations and issues that had been weighing pretty heavily on me.

     Then one night a few days later, I get a call.  It was my almost 3 year old niece.  Her first words were "Aunt Tiff, I am sorry you got hurt. Can I see your owies?"  My mom had told my sister about my fall and my niece who over heard was seriously concerned about me.  It was the sweetest thing ever.  We had a fun conversation, she brightened my day, but more importantly was a true blessing that I needed right then.  She wasn't concerned about my windshield, valves, pipes, financial responsibilities or my other woes.  She was concerned about me and just the reminder I needed. I thought about my blessings just over a couple days. That call and the service that friends and family had provided me with; random texts of encouragement, dropping everything and rushing to assess my situation, calls just because they were thinking of me, transporting my children when I couldn't be there, rushing to the aid of my daughter who hurt her ankle, convincing me to leave the house on a Friday night, listening ears, support, hugs, smiles, pure love and acceptance. 

      As I drove to work the next morning, I looked at the crack a little differently. All of a sudden it did not seem so big or important. In the scheme of the whole windshield it was tiny. .I had been so focused on that crack that I didn't see that there was lots of good glass above and below it.  I realized I had been focusing on my problems which to me that crack represented and not all the many blessing that I had been given in just a few short days. I was truly humbled and it felt like the weight was lifted off of me. I no longer cared that I did not have water in my kitchen, sure it was an inconvenience, but I could make it work until I could get it fixed and the other things I had been fretting about were tiny and really didn't matter.  It was the people in my life that mattered.  I suddenly became more patient, more understanding. Whoever said thankfulness is happiness was correct, because I felt it that day.

     A few days later, I had water in my kitchen again thanks to good friends and a new windshield.  As I got in my car and peered out that new windshield, I marveled because the crack was no longer there and not only did I have full view of the road, but my life too. 

 I drove off  with more determination than ever to have a better attitude of gratitude and to make a better effort to serve others. That crack, however will forever be in my mind as a reminder not dwell on those "things" that really don't matter.  

My new goals each day:

XOXO

Tiffanee

This sweet beautiful girl is my hero!