(Quite Literally) Thankful in the Storm

Recently it seems a lot of books I've been reading, stories I've been hearing, and messages at church have been about being thankful in the midst of the storms of life. We've all gone through a metaphorical storm or two. Sickness, financial problems, relationship issues; all of these are easy-to-name modern-day storms. But the other day, we faced a storm of a different nature, indeed, it was a quite literal storm, full of rain and thunder and lightning, more furious than any storm I can ever remember. This raging storm provided me with a much-needed opportunity to practice being thankful.

While the wind was pounding rain against the window, I was thankful for my warm bed and dry house.

When the power went out, I was thankful that it wasn't too cold and we didn't need to worry about pipes freezing.

In the morning when the power was still out, I was extremely thankful for my resourceful and prepared husband. He knew where the flashlights were and strategically placed them and the lantern in places he knew I would need light to get myself and Lana ready for the day.

While getting Lana dressed and fed, I was thankful that she was curious, and not afraid, of the change in her environment. Her easy-goingness that morning was much appreciated.

That afternoon, while talking to Avista customer service about why we still didn't have power, I was thankful I could speak to an actual person, and not a machine. The woman on the other end had obviously had a long day dealing with angry customers and I was thankful she still tried to sound friendly as she explained our power might not be back on until the next day.

That evening as I drove to our dark house, I was thankful I had the option of forgoing a cold dinner from a can and could drive into town for a hot cheeseburger.

Getting ready for bed that night in a dark house, I was thankful for extra blankets and warm pajamas. I was thankful that the house temperature hadn't dropped too much and thankful that if it did get too cold, we could pack a few things and head to a motel for the night.

Early the next morning, I was thankful to wake up to the sound of the furnace clicking on and the numbers flashing on my alarm clock.

While getting ready for the day, I was thankful for a hot shower and a garage that opened with the push of a button.

And now? Now I am thankful the storm passed, the power was restored and our lives were only inconvenienced for a mere 24 hours.

P.S. Thanks everyone for your well wishes while we were ill. As promised, we bounced back and ended our time at PukeFest 2010.