Sometimes it's the small blessings that matter the most

Before I get started, I want to update you on my to-do list for today. 

I got my tapioca fix!!! Tonight I had a hot date with my daughter.  We headed to Kim’s Teahouse for our tapioca.  It was our first time visiting, even though I’d had drinks from there before.  I consider myself a tapioca connoisseur, and have had them from tons of different places around Houston.  This is definitely one of the best tapioca drinks I’ve ever had!  The place was really cute and felt really homey with all the comfy couches and chairs and the giant television screen hanging above the fireplace.  I had the #43 – Tapioca Green Tea with Cream, which is actually Jasmine green tea, my favorite.  My daughter had the #17 – Papaya Smoothie and we both got double shots of tapioca.  Both drinks were delicious and really hit the spot.  The service was impeccable; you can be sure we will definitely be going back soon!

Take a look at this goodness:

Green Tea with Cream and Papaya Smoothie

To-Do list item #3…check!  Items #2 and #4…check!  Items #1, #5, and #6…not so much.

I originally wanted to title this post “Workout Wednesday” since Wednesday is usually when I share my workout schedule for the week.  However, something happened today and I thought this title was more appropriate.  But more about that in a minute.  Since it is “WORK OUT WEDNESDAY”, I would like to share how I’ve laid out my runs, cross training, and weights for this week, along with the modifications I made:

Work Out Schedule (July 9 – July 15)
	Run	Cross Train	Weights
Monday  7/9	2	---	Whole body (emphasis on legs)
Tuesday  7/10	3	Zumba	Legs
Wednesday  7/11	2 3	Step Wasn’t feeling it today!	Whole body Wasn’t feeling it today!
Thursday  7/12	4	Zumba, Spin	---
Friday  7/13	5	Pilates	Arms
Saturday  7/14	3	Step	Chest/Back/ Shoulders
Sunday  7/15	6	---	---

 

Speaking of which, I want to talk about what happened to me during my workout today. 

I lounged around all day (go figure!) and this afternoon we got dressed to go eat and then grocery shop.  We don’t eat out very often but when we do, it’s almost always either Vietnamese, Chinese, Malaysian food or an occasional greasy hamburger. J  We ended up leaving later than intended and ate at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants.  When we were done, it was almost five, and since our butt-kicking Body Works class started in 45 minutes, I knew it wasn’t going to happen for me today.  Neither did grocery shopping, for that matter.

What did happen was a two-hour, deep-sleep, food-induced hibernation.  I woke up after seven and my hubs had gone onto the gym without me.  That was perfectly fine by me; I wanted to run outside and take advantage of the cool freshness caused by all the rain we’ve been getting this week.

I got dressed and headed out for a quick run.  When I walked outside it was lightly sprinkling and I turned back around to leave my phone and headphones inside. As it turns out, I would be running naked today; no music, no GPS tracking. I never do that!  I was panting within two minutes of the run, despite the nice cool weather, and could feel the food bouncing up and down in my stomach.  Why did I eat so much?!?!  Because the food was sooooo good, that’s why! 

Half a mile in I was struggling so much I decided to just do the minimum two miles and head home.  I just was not feeling it!!! It was gloomy and sprinkling, I had no music to distract me, my legs were sore from lifting yesterday, and I felt so sluggish.  I was ready to just hurry up and get this run over with. 

At mile 1.5, I turned the corner and looked to my left…and saw the most glorious sunset!  And it came absolutely out of nowhere!  It was as if all of a sudden the sky had opened up and there was the sun, with its golden rays shining, its light bouncing off of the dark clouds that surrounded it.  My first thought was, ‘I gotta take a picture of this!’ then quickly realized I didn’t have my phone.  I was so bummed!  Here was this beautiful sight and no way of capturing it.  So this must be how my husband feels every time he sees the perfect scene and realizes he left his camera at home.

I watched the sun set for about a minute and set off to continue my run, feeling better.  As I ran, I realized that had been no accident.  And had I decided not to run today after all, and come out when I did, I would have missed it entirely.  It was meant for me to see this sunset.  I’m not sure this is going to make much sense but it healed me. Seeing that beautiful sight literally made the pain, the sluggishness, all the negative, go away.  I ran on about another half mile, stopped at a stop sign to wait for a car to go thru, looked up, and what did I see? A rainbow.  A gigantic, perfectly arched rainbow that crossed the entire sky!  I chuckled to myself, looked up and said, ‘You’re right, I get it. Thank you!’ and kept going.  He really got his point across.

It never ceases to amaze me how He sends us signs that come at the perfect time.  And yet sometimes we miss those signs because we’re not even looking for them.  Sometimes we walk around so blind, bogged down by the stressors of everyday life, too focused on the here and now.  It makes me wonder, how many of these “sunsets” we miss everyday.  And we don’t have to miss them if we would just be a little bit more open.  If we would just remember to look up every now and then, and really watch and listen.  If we would just look at the world around us every now and then and pay more attention.  If we could just do these things, we’d be more likely to get a glimpse of something splendid put before us that He intended us to see.  We would receive more of these small blessings, just like I did today.  And sometimes it’s the small blessings that matter the most.

I realized then how ridiculous I had been.  Here I was, healthy and fit, and blessed to even be able to run.  And what was I doing the whole time?  Complaining, thinking negative thoughts, psyching myself out and ruining the experience. Shame on me!  I ran on, newly motivated and invigorated.

I finished up my run as it was getting dark and while I stretched, I said a little prayer giving thanks.  Thanks for the beautiful sunset, the perfect rainbow, but mostly for the attitude check and the gentle reminder to trust in Him.

It's funny, but so completely true, that sometimes it’s the smallest things that have the biggest impact.