A Simple Thought (Blog 21 of 30)

It was a Wednesday night in December 1992.  I had just finished teaching Bible class and at about 8:30 that night I jumped in my car and headed to Moose Jaw.  I was going home for Christmas.

I remember that trip for three reasons..... 1. I was worn out and was really looking forward to being at home and having some fun.... 2. Some friends from church (Dana and LaWanda to be exact) had given me a Christmas present - a cassette tape (yes - a cassette) of the soundtrack to the movie "Pure Country" - so I listened to George Strait all the way home ...... 3. It was a clear, moonlit, freezing cold night.

That last detail is the one I remembered first tonight. 

You see, as I drove through the black and the cold I thought about how cool it was that I was taking my own little comfy climate with me.  What I mean is that I was sitting in the driver's seat wearing a t-shirt with the heat cranked and the tunes blasting.  Without the car and the micro-climate it created for me, I would be frozen and miserable - but I was toasty and happy.

Why did I think about that tonight?

Well, I went to a speedway meeting and as I ran from the door of the Beefeater to my truck I got completely soaked.  Like it was raining hard.... pounding down.... super cold..... and I thought, "Boy am I ever glad to have a nice, dry, warm house tonight".

Can you imagine living on the prairies back in the settler days when all you had was a one room sod shack and maybe some sort of wood burning stove in the corner to keep you warm.  On a night like this, you would be cold and damp all night (and that is if the rain stayed out - which it likely wouldn't) and this was the nice weather.... in a few months it will be much worse.

Here is the deal:  Every once in while I am prone to pouting about what I don't have.  But you know what?  Even the simplest blessings are a huge deal if you take the time to stop and think about them.

Thanksgiving is coming up - so have a look around - you likely have a lot more to be thankful for than you have to gripe about.