Lessons Learned from a Tiny Shower Stall

Yesterday I came back from a nice, long run and hopped in the shower. When I got out, I was thinking about how refreshed I felt and how wonderful it was to have some good exercise and then feel good and clean afterward. That got me to thinking...

One of the things that I complain about the most is the lack of a bathtub in our house. We have only a shower stall, and it's a pretty small one at that. I don't know how many times I have whined to Kevin about wanting a full bath. I have often told him, "I don't care what our future home has, but I know one thing that it MUST have and that's a bathtub!" It's silly, really, because I could probably count on one hand the number of actual baths I would take in a year, but sometimes all I want at the end of a long, hard day is a nice bubble bath with some candles and music.

Suddenly, though, I was thinking about how selfish I am. There are so many things that I want, that I make into needs. Do I really need a bathtub? No way! The shower works just fine! It has incredibly hot water, tons of pressure, and is more than probably 75% of the world's population has. In one of our devotions the other night, there was a fact given that mentioned this: If you make more than $31,000 in a year, you are among the world's wealthiest 7%. That fact shocked and shamed me a little bit.

I started to think about all of the things that we have. We have two cars, for two people. Granted, we need them to get to work, but we have TWO cars! We have an excess of warm AND cold running water. I don't have to wake up in the morning and trudge miles on dusty paths to get my water supply for the day from a well. Instead, I turn on the faucet and the water comes gushing out! I can get as much as I want! Then I go to my closet and look for the outfit that I want to wear for that day from my abundance of clothes. I can then choose from my multiple jackets and even purses for the one that I want to wear to work that day. I look into my cupboard at our multiple boxes of cereal to choose my breakfast every morning. I grab a cup of freshly brewed coffee from my coffeemaker for my drive to work every day. These are all simple pleasures that I take for granted.

My drive to work is another issue in itself! How many times have I complained about the traffic to and from work? I should be thankful that I even have a job to go to! I'm thankful that I can get up out of bed and go do work that I enjoy so much every single day. I'm thankful that we can afford the gas costs to drive my car through that traffic every day! I know that I am blessed to have a job that pays me enough that I can support myself. Technically, I could even support MORE than just myself with this, and that is something that Kevin and I have decided to devote ourselves to in the next year. We want to help people with the abundance God has blessed us with.

I was humbled yesterday when I took that shower. As I stood there and realized how many times I had complained about that tiny shower stall, I took a moment to bow my head and feel ashamed. I thanked God for giving me that tiny shower stall, with its amazing hot water and ever abundant supply. I thanked Him that I am able to take a shower every day and that I can drink the water right from my tap. I thanked Him for all that He had supplied for Kevin and I and I decided that I was going to try to be more joyful and thankful, and to share our abundance with others.

I'm going to try...it's not always easy, but if I can do one small thing to brighten someone else's life then it's worth it. I'm so thankful for my tiny, cramped shower stall! I hope that it will remind me every day of how good I truly have it.