Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


11.25.2004  

Thanks, Part 1

Gah! It's snowing outside! Ssshhhh. I can hear your responses now. Well duh, John, it's not going to be snowing inside, is it? Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. Imagine the horrified look upon my agonizingly animated countenance when just moments ago I looked up and saw SNOWFLAKES. On top of the fact that I was already freezing with the wind whipping through my layers of fleece, polyester pseudo-police/rentacop uniform top, and longsleeve cotton polo, the wind decided to taunt me with little flakes of snow.



There are worse things in life, though, aren't there? Yes, there are. I have much to be thankful for. The fact that I can come in from the cold to a warm bed is one of them. I won't be hitting my bed anytime soon, as I'm in the early portion of my 16 hour Thanksgiving Day security shift, but still...I'll be able to stay warm here at work. That alone makes me smile and frown all at once. There are people who don't have a warm place to stay, and I don't just mean weather-wise.



I remember how it was for us growing up. We never had a lot of money; it always seemed we were on the verge of being "out on the street." I don't think that ever would have really happened, as there were too many friends and family members who would have taken us in. Still, mom was always worried about where she'd get the money for food and rent. Living like that was par for the course; I didn't realize until later that not all the other kids lived like that. Part of it was the way we were raised. My older siblings were always there to take care of us, and it was ingrained within all seven of us from an early age that we were in this together; everyone looked out for everyone else, no matter what.



Thus, it is with a grateful smile that I think back upon my childhood. Did I ever lack anything? Never. My mother prayed for us...whatever else she did or did not do, she prayed. Whatever lack my father created by his not really being there, my mother tried to fill. Did she fill it completely? No, but that's not her fault. Her prayers count for far more than I'll ever know, and I genuinely feel that that's the Lord's biggest vehicle of grace in my life. Through it, graces untold have been brought forth and will be brought forth.



I mentioned how I have a warm place to stay through this chilly night. I always had a warm place to stay growing up. My house was filled with love, I never doubted that. There were times when I was blind to it, times when I didn't understand it, even times when I despised it, but I was never left out in the cold. I always had a warm house to go in to...a warmth that came from love. For that, I give thanks.

posted by Bolo | 2:40 AM
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