We have much to be thankful for.

I was reading a story, "Lou Gehrig, The Luckiest Man", with a group of 4th graders today. Something he repeatedly said was, "We have much to be thankful for." He stated this in the midst of his bout with a disease that eventually wiped out his central nervous system and killed him.

This made me think. Surrounded by 4th graders, I was reminded of just how much we have to be thankful for. I sat this morning in a stuffy room- hot enough to need to open windows and turn fans on. I was thankful for the warmth.

I am thankful for a job today. I am thankful to be working more than I had ever imagined during this season in my life. I am thankful for tired feet at the end of the day and the comfort I feel when I finally crawl under a heavy cold down comforter in a dark bedroom- careful not to disturb my slumbering roommate, Megan. I am thankful for relationships at the coffee house- for customers who are true and come back time and time again; people who remember my name and ask me about teaching. I am thankful for coworkers and sideways hugs that we share. I am thankful for a work environment where I am free to talk about my faith and discuss the greatness of our God and the richness of his blessings; the fact that I don't have to worry about a job for the fall because He has something waiting for me.

I am thankful for friends who call just to check in- even when I cannot return the phone calls during normal waking hours. I am thankful for Meg, who is 2 hours earlier in California, so that I CAN call her when I get off work after closing the coffee shop late at night. :)

And I'm thankful for this old run-down school that I am teaching at today. For it holds a certain black smell that reminds me of my dad's 3M factory job when I was a little girl- and the way his clothes would smell when I buried my face in them at the end of a day. Some things, some strange things, bring comfort in ways we never could have planned. I love that about life.