Being thankful for the things which we take for granted

I just finished paying bills, which despite the best of intentions always puts me in a bad mood. A bad mood which always spreads to my children and the whole lot of us are pretty unpleasant to be around. It is hard work to pull back from the brink and remind myself that things aren't really as dire as they feel when I'm writing out the checks and subtracting the amounts. (Why is it always subtracting? Why don't I ever get to do addition? I like addition, there's no borrowing [pun intended] involved.) But they are paid for another two weeks and we still have some left over for food. And we can also enjoy heat, electricity, a roof over our heads, and running water.

These are the thinks we take for granted here in the first world and rarely think about them until they don't work. And then we complain if the companies involved don't get them working fast enough for our taste. I know I don't stop often enough to really be thankful for things that many people live without.

I mean, how often do we stop and give thanks for something as simple as a toilet?

(This graphic is from Water for People)

The alternatives to clean, indoor plumbing are not very appealing, especially in the winter.

We have so much, we just don't think about how much it really is. Instead, I often choose (and it is a choice) to complain about what I don't have. Our pastor yesterday in his sermon likened complaining to virus that infects us and then easily spreads to others. Well, this afternoon I wasn't openly voicing complaints, but my attitude was screaming ingratitude. And I have already mentioned how well that turned out.

So my goal for the rest of the day is to see if I can turn the day around, and I will work on my thankfulness, the antidote to the dreaded complaining virus. And we'll start with being thankful for our toilets... especially since the little girls are 99.9% accurate in making it to them in time