The Little Things

          If you are like me, you tend to be thankful for the big things that happen in your life.  But there are so many "little" things that aren't really little, but we routinely accept them and take them for granted. We tend not to think about these things until they go wrong or are missing.
          For example, you need to go somewhere and your car starts.  We come to expect that and don't think about saying "thank you Lord!".  But if it doesn't start that creates a problem and we may begin to pray that it might start or for wisdom to get help.  The same thing happens when we drive hundreds of miles without a breakdown.  Today we just expect that.  But, then, suddenly, ...
          We drive around town and take trips, safely, without even thinking about it.  And yet many are injured or even killed in auto accidents, often even close to home.  We always pray before taking long trips, but seldom think about doing that for short ones.
         Now we have a well, not public water as most folks do today.  Hundreds of times a day the pump provides us with water to meet our every need.  And we never think about it until the day that the pump wears out.  Then we have no water to drink, wash or even flush our toilets.  Then we think about the well and begin to pray.  And even if you don't have a well, I think most of us just take water for granted. We use it throughout the day without much thought, maybe until there is a drought.
          And while talking about pumps, we have water problems in our basement and a sump pump is necessary to protect the things in our basement.  And it normally does its job, until the pump burns out or the electricity goes off. Then we need to scramble to get the buckets to try to keep ahead of the water by hand.  And believe me that has happened to us a few times.
          Speaking about electricity, how we take that for granted until a storm cuts it off.  Then we really miss it and all sorts of problems can result, such as rotting food in our refrigerators and freezers.  And those appliances we also take for granted until they suddenly go bad and we either hustle to replace them and protect the contents or we lose it all.  Do we ever stop to be thankful for electricity or for vital appliances when they operate daily as expected?
          In the winter, when the temperature drops below freezing, and the cold winds are blowing, we really depend upon our furnace to keep us warm and comfortable.  And even though we may have repair contracts, being out of heat, even for several hours, can be very difficult.
          Then, when I wake up to several feet of snow, I am thrilled when my snow blower starts, and,fortunately, most times it has.   But I should be thankful for that.  I'm no longer able to shovel and it is difficult and even dangerous to be snowbound without any help.
          There are just so many things we take for granted every day.  What about our freedom to worship, to travel, to select from vast supplies of food, to work, to go to school, to vote, to read what we want, to use the internet, to express ourselves, and on and on and on?   There seems to be no limit to the small, but important things, that we take for granted and seldom express our thanks for them.
          Now what made me think about this?  Actually, the excessive heat that we have been living with in recent weeks.  I am so thankful for air conditioning.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, (June 29), we did recently lose our ac for about 24 hours.  But it wasn't too hot then.  We would have really suffered if our ac had decided to take an unexpected  vacation in the last few weeks.  Thankfully it didn't.
          Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of so many "little" things that I so often take for granted.  And, thank you, that all things are under your control.