originally victoria — unfiltered blog

For the past 6 weeks my grandfather has been in the hospital. Back in December of ’23 he had a stroke that put him in a rehabilitation clinic for 2 weeks. The day before he was going to get discharged from rehab, they notice blood in his urine. He was immediately rushed to the ER and along came his health journey. For 6 weeks the doctors have not been able to figure out where this blood is coming from. At 83 years old and a stroke patient, he was put under anesthesia 3 times within 2 weeks. He is the definition of A STRONG MAN!!!! The story is so much longer and theres so much more detail, but the bottom line is he has been through some rings of fire for 2 months.

I was talking with my grandpa the other day [WHEN HE FINALLY MADE IT HOME!!!] and we began to talk about having a grateful heart. My 83 year old grandpa begin to share with me this crucial story of his stay at the hospital. This was such a sweet sincere moment. He began to share with me his emotions and the thoughts that went through his head the past 2 months.

Talk about taking things for granted… He shared with me how during this journey he realized how often we take the simple things in life for granted. Such as, waking up in a bed we can call ours, wearing clothes we own that are in the closet, going to the bathroom, walking, eating food. For 6 weeks he has been in a hospital bed, wearing a button up gown, waking up to florescent light bulbs beaming in his eyes, having to use a catheter to use the bathroom, walking with a walker transitioning to a cane, and eating hospital food that is barely warm by the time it got to his room.

It’s the little things that lead up to the big. We have so much to be grateful for yet we so often tend to forget to thank Him for the little things. We are always asking Him for the miraculous to happen, but don’t cherish what is in front of us. The little things add up! Sometimes it takes baby-steps. An infant turns into a toddler who can walk, who turns into a child who can talk, who then turns into a teenager who is driving. IT ADDS UP WITH TIME; GODS TIMING IS PERFECT. ALWAYS!

MINDSET IS EVERYTHING. What do you do to set the atmosphere for the day? Do you thank God for waking you up or do you complain that your alarm is going off and it’s too early in the morning to be waking up? Do you walk into the kitchen and realize there is no milk for your cereal and cuss at the fridge or do you find something else to eat? Do you walk into work in a mood because someone cut you off or do you walk in with praise on your lips because you made it to work safely? How do you approach the defeats in life? If anyone, I know it’s not always easy to see the good in things. BUT, I can testify that my God has never left me nor forsaken me. My God has showed up when I needed Him most. I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.

I encourage you today to create a grateful journal. As bad as our day may seem, we can find at least 3 things we are grateful for. This “journal” can be a piece of scrap paper, the notes app on our devices, or an actual notebook journal you can continue to write in. At night, when you’re in bed write at least 3 things you are grateful from that day! It can be waking up, the sun was shinning, having friends/family to talk to, etc. Challenge your mind to think outside the box and acknowledge the good in the midst of our struggles.