When everything is going well, we take it for granted…hot water, for instance. Yesterday, I discovered that my water heater had gone out. Following the directions, I tried many, many times to relight it. It refused. So, today, I’ll need to call someone who knows more about cantankerous appliances than I do. And, I’ll continue to get hot water the old-fashioned way–from a teakettle on the stove.
Many modern marvels make life a lot easier and more fun and we seldom pay any mind to their internal workings. They are here. They work. That’s good. But, when something goes wrong, we notice.
I’ve heard people say, “Thank goodness for the plain, ordinary, uneventful day.” I agree. It’s the “No news is good news” adage. When the day runs smoothly, everything working as it should, family well, everyone having jobs, a home, food, living in a peaceful country, we should be grateful to God. I think about the people in the Ukraine. How they would scoff at my measly problem of no hot water. Their homes, their lives all hang in the balance. They would be grateful for an ordinary day.
Here in Northwest Arkansas, we are pretty tired of ice and snow but we see light at the end of the tunnel. The temperature today may actually climb above the freezing mark. This layer of white will melt. It’s a temporary thing. And, because we’ve experienced a lot of extreme weather, we’ll be thankful for the sunshine.
There is another old saying, “You don’t miss the water ’til the well runs dry.” I certainly didn’t miss having hot water ’til there was none. It would be good if we appreciated all our blessings as we enjoy them, before they are taken away. Let’s be aware of and thankful for our freedoms, our families, our health. We are particularly blessed with not only necessities but many luxuries. Let’s thank God for all, asking Him to help those who have none and who are in peril of their lives, and to be merciful to us, who so many times, take too many things for granted, until, suddenly, those things are taken away.
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