If Only...

If you read my first entry in this blog, you know that I don’t always see with “grateful” eyes. I often look at a situation and immediately think, “If only I (we/you/they) had [fill in the verb here]…everything would have been so much better.”

In these scary economic times, it’s easy to play the “if only” game. If only we had saved more…If only I had worked longer…If only the bail-out would work…If only…If only. You get the picture. Today – again while sitting in church, I felt grateful for the experience I have gained through the years that helps me cope today with yet another case of the “if onlys.”

One of the good things about aging is that with age comes experience and if we are lucky, perhaps a little wisdom. Today, I am grateful for the knowledge that comes from my own past experiences. While this economic downturn appears to be more severe than others we have faced in my generation, it is not my first time at the rodeo. We have been here before.

In our first clash with economic hard times, I asked myself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” My initial answer had to do with losing things – the house, the car, the private school for our son (you know, the “things” of life). After seriously thinking about the question though, I came to the realization that the worst that could happen was that I would allow economics to separate me from what is really important to me – my husband, my family, my friends, my faith.

Today, I am grateful that my husband and I know how to work together in good times and hard times. I am grateful that my family cares about me. I am grateful to have friends who can hear me say “if only” and know what I mean. I am grateful to have faith in something bigger than I am.

If only I can remember this tomorrow.