Every time I see a doctor appointment on the calendar I groan.

It’s one of my least favorite things to do in Taiwan, a place where culture shock and impatience collide for an unpleasant afternoon. When I bring Ben to get his shots we need to wait in line for him to get his measurements. And then we wait in another line to see his doctor (for 30 seconds). Once we’re finished we wait in line to pay, and another line to pick up his vaccine, and finally we wait in line to get the shot. Less than a minute of actual doctor time can sometimes take up to two hours of waiting in line – it’s my least favorite thing.

Last week when I went to the doctor to make sure my cancer is still in remission (hallelujah, it is!) I went without my trusty distract-o-matic smartphone. Thankfully I only had to wait in three lines, but it was about an hour of line-waiting nonetheless. With nothing to keep me busy I decided to play the gratitude game (sounds cheesy, but stick with me).

Two summers ago my husband and his students decided to fast from their phones for 3 days. Being the devoted wife I am I offered to join in the fast, but I felt like God was asking me to fast from something different. When I sought Him out to see what He meant, it was clear: complaining.

3 days. No complaining.

I laughed to myself – I am the pinnacle of positivity! Sure God, I can “fast” from something I hardly ever do.

That night Travis and I went to Costco to pick up a few things and I lamented about how lame the cereal selection was. Travis stopped me – “Hey, no complaining remember?” But! Seriously – Frosted Flakes or Koko Crunch? Anyone would complain about that! (Keep in mind this conversation is happening in an American store, 7,000 miles away from America that sells hundreds of American products). Ok, fine. You have a point.

Over the next 48 hours I found myself in the midst of approximately 90 conversations about how horribly hot and muggy the August weather was and I’m thinking I should probably invest in some super glue to put on my lips. That night I had ministry at The Rock (which I usually complained about) and about halfway through the night the power went out. We lit some candles, but about 15 minutes into the blackout all of the air conditioning had escaped the room and we were sweating through our clothes. We eventually had to close for the night because it was too unbearably hot to be there without AC.

And that’s when it hit me – when had I ever thanked God that the Rock has air conditioning? I’d never given it a second thought! Travis and I didn’t have much money in our first year of marriage and we couldn’t really use the AC at our house – so to be able to sit in free AC for 3 hours a night was an absolute blessing!

That day God and I started a new game. Take a crappy situation and count as many blessings as you can in the midst of it.

So here I was last week, sitting in the hospital counting my blessings.

• Thank you for a clean, safe hospital and doctors who can speak English
• Thank you that I can get my thyroid medication here and that it only costs about $1/month
• Thank you that Ben was born here and that we got to take him home!
• Thank you for health insurance, that makes all of our doctoring super affordable
• Thank you for the ER doctors who took care of Ben when he had his seizure
• Thank you that Travis is watching Ben today so I could drive the moto here and have some personal time

By the time the doctor called my number, I was still counting.

It’s amazing what God can do in our hearts when we pay attention. When we engage the moment instead of distract ourselves from it.

Not having a phone has limited my ability to text message (sorry Laura!), but it’s created more opportunities to talk about my issues with God, rather than spout off frustrated texts. Ben, Travis, and I are all sick this week and there have been many times I’ve wanted to send pity texts to my sisters, thinking their pity is what will make my day better.

But what’s cool about God is He doesn’t just make my day better, He makes me better.

And a better me is going to have better days. As my grandma Margie used to say: “the only thing you can control is your attitude.” I’d love to snap my fingers and clear up the snot in Ben’s nose and have him take a 4 hour nap (so I can take a one hour nap of my own and then have 3 hours of personal time), but that’s probably not going to happen. But I can let God change me, I can work with Him on being more patient and grateful in the midst of frustrating circumstances.

Think about what is most frustrating you today – what about that situation can you be grateful for?

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,  and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5