The Baby Gecko & the Dishwasher

"Who does the dishes?" It's the ultimate sign of a loving spouse or a lazy spouse. You know what I mean, it's in all the movies. Some woman whines to her husband because he never helps her with the dishes or better yet does them for her.

Because it's so hard to put dishes in a dishwasher and press start.

 Don't get me wrong, I think one should be considerate and look for ways to serve your spouse, but I have no sympathy for a couple who can't figure out who should put the dishes in the stupid dishwasher.

Be grateful, you whiny wife. Allen and I have no dishwasher. And to think, I used to like hand-washing the dishes!

Then one day - yesterday - I had a revelation.

I'm more or less trying to fry my garden at the moment. But when I do remember to water the garden, there is always a gecko hiding out behind our hose. I lift up the hose, and a gecko skitters across the wall and buries itself in my mini forest of a garden.

Yesterday, it wasn't Mom or Dad - it was a baby gecko! It was soooo cute. (And re-emphasized the fact that MANY people I know - and animals, too, apparently - are having babies.)

I was suddenly struck by an immense feeling of gratitude. I may not remember to water my garden much, but when I do, I know I'll be greeted by a cute little gecko family.

It's a small thing. But it's a wonderful thing. Something to make me smile, to make life unique, to make my home a home, to remind me how completely awesome and good God is. It's only a small gecko - a small blessing - but even a small gecko is still so complex! And when I think of the bigger and more complex blessings God has given me, it absolutely blows my mind.

God didn't have to put that gecko in my garden. He didn't have to give me a garden with more flowers than I can count or a wonderful patio to enjoy the summer evenings. He didn't have to give me a job with people who care about me. He didn't have to give me an amazing, handsome, hard working husband who loves me or a spacious two bedroom apartment with no dishwasher for our first home.

And that's when I realized. That whole no dishwasher thing? It's a blessing.

We've made it a policy to do dishes together because it's easiest to have one person wash and one rinse. Thus, all that time I could have been loading the dishwasher by myself, I've been handwashing tons of dishes whilst flirting with my husband or having an intellectual conversation (or both ;)

That gecko reminded me to relish the small blessings in life. Like having no dishwasher.