What Are You Taking For Granted?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am almost always cold (the downside of having no natural insulation I guess).  To help you picture this, right now I am sitting in my room with a blanket, a heating pad, and an infared space heater.  Needless to say, when I wake up and see that it is below freezing outside, I just want to stay inside with my blanket and heater… This morning was one of those days.  Yesterday it rained all day, and this morning the temperatures were just below freezing temperatures.  When I went outside, I just wanted to get the heat going in my car, turn on my heated seats (my favorite function on my car), and get to somewhere warm fast!  Unfortunately because of the rain, my windshield was iced over and no amount of scraping helped…  After trying for a couple of minutes and getting my coat really wet (not all of the water was frozen), I got back in my car to wait it out.  After about five minutes, it finally thawed and I was on my way to meet a friend at my church.

When we got there we were locked out, so we called someone who was already inside and asked him to let us in.  While we waited, an older (I think homeless) gentleman came up to us and said he had been outside all night.  He said he was trained in survival, but it was very difficult when it was both cold and wet outside.  He told us that he was a member of our international church (he was even wearing one of our shirts) and he asked if he could come inside for a few minutes to warm up.  We let him come in and talked with him for a few minutes.  Then my friend and I found a spot to meet, though we had already lost about half of our hour to meet.

I wanted to share this story because meeting this man really convicted me… I always complain about being cold.  I don’t like to be out five minutes in the cold, much less all night!  I don’t like getting wet either (unless it’s in a hot shower), but this guy had been out in the rain and cold while I stayed inside with my blanket and heater.  Even when I went outside I had a warm car and an umbrella to keep me dry.  The sad truth is that most of the time, I don’t think about what a blessing it is to have these things.  They are just part of my life and I hardly think twice about it…

My question for you to contemplate today is, “What Are You Taking For Granted?”  Think about that, and when you think of something, be thankful for it.  You could just as easily not have it.  Things like food, shelter, heat, indoor plumbing, wifi, microwaves, cars, health, friends, family, jobs and on and on… these things are not part of everyone’s reality.  Today I encourage you to be thankful for them, and be compassionate towards those who are less fortunate.