Good morning and happy Saturday. I hope that you had a good week. Please join us in person or on-line tomorrow to hear Pastor Edwin preaching on John 3.
The other morning I noticed that one of my tires was a bit lower than the others. It seems like that happens sometimes when the temperature first gets cold for the year. Even though I had plenty of other things to do, I added that to my list for the day. In the midst of running another errand, I decided to swing into QuikTrip and air it up. I prefer to use the air compressor at QT since it is still free. What a concept – free air. Other places charge a whopping $ 0.75 for such convenience. Anyway, I motored into the QT near the church, parked my car, and prepared the to face the elements of the harsh winter morning. Actually, it was probably 30 degrees or so. The risk of frostbite or hypothermia wasn’t that great. I grabbed the hose, pressed the start button, and filled my tire. As I finished, while I was still admiring my handiwork, I noticed someone standing in front of my car. Realizing that he was waiting for me to get done, I handed him the hose and hit the start button on the machine for him. It wasn’t until I started to back out, that I noticed his vehicle. He was driving a truck that had been sideswiped. The two doors on the drivers side were completely gone. Even though it was cold, he was driving around without doors! As I looked directly into his truck, I noticed there was someone in the passenger seat, all bundled up as you can imagine. It also appeared that they had a lot of their personal belongs in the back seat. It was kind of hard to miss since the view was totally unobstructed. I don’t know how far they were traveling, but I can’t imagine it would be a lot of fun driving without doors on a cold day. Even worse is if it was raining or snowing.
As I drove on in my nice warm car, I thought about what had just happened. I was mildly inconvenienced by a tire that needed some air. I had to drive less than a mile to get some free air at QT. The whole thing only took a few minutes. Sadly, it is those minor things that we can often complain about, worry about or allow to ruin part or all of a day. It is so easy of a trap to fall into. And then you contrast it with the man and woman driving a wrecked truck without doors on one side. With almost every thing in life, it is not hard to find examples of people that are having a more difficult time than you are. Most of the inconveniences that we deal with are laughable in comparison. We complain about waiting in line to get an overpriced meal or a $ 5 coffee. And yet, many in the world are going without food and drink. We feel inconvenienced if our internet access is too slow, if we have to wait in line at Stuff-mart to purchase our basket load of supplies, or if the doctor can’t see us for a few days.
Anyway, as we approach Thanksgiving, let us each take a bit of time to focus on the things that we should be grateful for. Obviously, our faith, family and friends will be high on the list. But think about the not so obvious things as well. Running water, electricity, food, access to education and healthcare, a country that has more freedoms than anywhere else, free air and doors on your car.
…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Love God. Love others. Impact our community. Change the world.
Pastor Larry
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