Thankful Thursday: Flexibility

I don’t consider myself to be the most flexible person (either physically or dispositionally). I like things the way I’ve arranged them and don’t tolerate changes well. Which is why I’m so thankful for the grace of God over the past week in a) enabling others to be flexible to make things easier for me and b) enabling me to be flexible when I needed to be.

This week I’m thankful…

…for back to back appointments
Louis had his two month well-child appointment last week and I needed a thyroid check as well. When I called a few weeks back, the receptionist was happy to reschedule us slightly so Louis and I could have back to back appointments (especially handy now that we live a half hour away from the doctor’s office – and now that I have two kids to get ready for trips out!) And for Louis’s four month appointment? We were able to schedule that back to back with Tirzah Mae’s 2 year appointment. Perfect.

…for flu shots
It’s earlier than my reminder to get my annual flu shot (my phone rings in October to remind me to get it), but I heard that Walmart has the vaccine and remembered to ask my doctor if he had it too. He did, so I won’t have to remember to arrange getting one in October because I’ve already got it taken care of.

…for different patterns
Louis’s 2 month shots (combined with my flu shot) completely kicked our butts. The day was disrupted first by the appointment, then by Louis’s need to breastfeed continuously. There was no way I could complete my ordinary routines. But I always feel awful when I spend the day simply sitting around breastfeeding. So, rather than playing catch-up and getting frustrated that I couldn’t catch up, I made myself a little game to help me still accomplish something around the house – and it worked. I gave Louis the attention he needed and managed to not end the day frustrated over how little I’d accomplished. Win-win.

An old photo of Tirzah Mae and I exercising – Tirzah Mae wanted a knee brace just like mama’s

…for substitutions
I can hardly believe it. I ran out of pinto beans with bean burritos on the menu. But I had just enough black beans to finish out the recipe. Then over the weekend, I started tomato soup going only to discover that the can of tomato juice I’d thought was still in the basement? Not there. But I did have some diced tomatoes that my mom had canned for me in tomato juice. They worked perfectly (and I’m double checking my pantry before I start a recipe from now on out – relying on memory when it’s been two and a half months since I was in charge of cooking full-time is bad news. Which reminds me, have I mentioned how thankful I am for the many women who’ve been providing me with meals, either in the freezer or freshly prepared, so I didn’t have to cook for TWO MONTHS after Louis’s birth?!?)

…for my husband’s flexible schedule
Daniel is blessed to be able to set his own hours at work – which means if Louis didn’t let me sleep overnight, Daniel can take Louis and let me sleep in and then go to work after I wake up. Or he can come home early if my day isn’t going well and make up the time later or work from home. I try not to take advantage of his flexibility, but there are times when Daniel’s flexibility is a major sanity saver for me. I am so thankful for him.

…for an unchanging God
Life with littles means plans change in an instant. Baby’s hungry? Drop everything. Blow out diaper? Drop everything. Water emptied all over the living room rug? Drop everything. (And dozens more reasons to drop everything!) But even as my schedule must flex, my priorities must change, my routines must be disrupted, I can rest knowing that God never shifts, never changes, is never disrupted. As he gives me grace, I can fix my heart, my mind, my emotions on his unchanging nature – and allow his unchanging grace to help me be flexible with the other stuff that does change.