It may only be semantics (“the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text”) but my title is my mindset. I have a lot of duties between work, church, home, and everything in between, but if I try to remember that these duties are not things I HAVE to do, but things I GET to do, I seem to stay in a pretty decent place emotionally and mentally.

Of course, there are many examples in life where I need to repeat this out loud (over and over and over)…such as cleaning the toilet, decluttering my basement, cutting back my irises, shoveling the driveway…and so on. But my examples are still “GET TO” examples. For instance, I get to clean my toilet – because I am blessed with indoor plumbing (many in the world still rely on outhouses, or worse). I get to declutter my basement – because I have so many things that I can bless someone else who needs them more than I do. I get to cut back my irises, because they were so large and prolific this summer, blessing me with a beautiful view from my kitchen window, and cutting them back will give me even more blooms next year. I get to shovel my driveway, because my husband and I make a great team, my back is healthy, and I’m able to help this winter.

One of my favorite “GET TO” opportunities is working with kids. Since my own are grown and gone, I’m getting all my kid time in teaching Sunday school, working with the middle and high schoolers on Wednesday nights, giving the Children’s Sermon on Sundays, and whatever else comes up. Love those kids! I don’t even have to say “GET TO” in my head.

I hope you have areas in your life where you can switch your mindset from “HAVE TO” to “GET TO” – it’s pretty freeing and helps me choose gratitude over grumbling.

“So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.” Colossians 2:6-7 (CSB)