A dear friend gently reminded me last week that I hadn’t posted here in a while, and I’m grateful she called me on it. Defensively, I was quick to respond by telling her that I still do write gratitude every day…in my 5-year journal, that is. But I knew what she really meant.
It’s easy for me to list the things for which I’m grateful. It’s remembering to be grateful in spite of annoyances, changes in plans, unexpected turns of events, disappointments, angry people and things like that that I have trouble with. And cold weather. Lately it seems that I’ve been given my share of opportunity to practice that kind of gratitude. God gives us exactly what we need.
Today is the sixth straight day temps here haven’t risen above freezing. Lows are in the single digits. Today is Wednesday and I haven’t been outside since Sunday, it’s that cold. It’s been more than six years since we lived in a house and nearly 20 since we experienced winter in an RV–so things were bound to happen. And they did. The waterline to the icemaker in the fridge split. We didn’t close off the grey water tank, and all the water froze in the sewerline, leaving us unable to empty the black water tank. And Dave’s had to go outside and reset the breaker every time I forget to turn off the space heater when I turn on an appliance.
The weather is what it is, and I’m grateful it’s not as bad as in so many other parts of the country. I’m grateful Dave was home when the waterline broke so that he could clean up the mess. Yesterday, when he was trying to disconnect the sewerline that had frozen, he saw water pouring out of an adjacent RV, one whose owners weren’t home. He called the campground owner who did what he could, but I’m sure there was a big mess inside the rig. I’m grateful he doesn’t yell at me when I forget to turn off the space heater or complain when he goes outside to reset the breaker I repeatedly trip.
I am grateful I have everything I need. Food. Clothing. Shelter. I don’t need to go anywhere today, and I’m grateful I can hunker down inside. I’m grateful for wellness checks from my daughter, as well as making wellness checks on my friends to see how they’re doing. I’m grateful for this opportunity to be inside my little coccoon. I’m grateful to be re-learning ways to deal with ‘winter’ again. Things like leaving cabinet doors open so pipes don’t freeze and closing off the grey water so that the hose doesn’t freeze up and we can empty the black water tank when it needs it.
And I’m grateful for the little sign that reminds me to THINK. Not just to turn off the space heater so that I don’t trip the breaker yet again, but just to think before I speak or act. If I can only learn to consistently pause before allowing any words to escape my mouth, that would be miraculous.
I’m a work in progress, and that’s something to be grateful for, too, because if something’s not growing, it’s dying–and life is meant to be lived. So despite it being only 8 degrees now, the sun is out and shining brightly. I’m grateful for what promises to be a very blessed day today.
