When the 70-80 mph winds cut through Walla Walla in the early, early hours of last Friday eliminating power service all over town (bringing all internet activity to a halt - oh, no! not that!) I was surprised, although I don't know why, that one of the first things that came to my mind was to -
Count my blessings that -
1. no trees blocked our street or fell on our house or cars
2. a gas fireplace allowed us to huddle close by for some heat during the daytime hours
3. a gas stove top was here for simple meals prepared in the dark, mostly
4. we have water delivered via water lines versus a pump with an electric motor
5. we have no babies in the house requiring diaper changes, sterilized bottles, etc. - I'm grateful for this one all of the time:)
6. we had plenty of dog food
7. we had stuff that could be made into meals, sort of
8. we had a candle and flashlight supply
9. we were able to find a little KMart lantern
10. we had plenty of reading we wanted to do and two little bitty booklights
11. our roof didn't lose shingles - there are shingles all over town
12. our power came on late Saturday afternoon
13. it wasn't raining or snowing and that the wind did eventually die down Saturday late morning
15. there are workers still toiling all over town to get the power on (Friday-Monday still out in many places.)
16. this storm can be looked upon as something to be remembered with little heartbreak.....there were no deaths or injuries reported in our town or nearby ones due to the storm
This "little" storm made me ever so mindful of the tragedies that occur every day in this country and in the world that are not just inconveniences but true tragedies. God, help me to remember those tragedies every single day and be grateful for the blessings that surround my life - blessings that can be taken away in a heartbeat - blessings never to be taken for granted.
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I'm so glad you and your house were not badly hurt, and that you are able to count your gratitude. It's certainly a lesson.
ReplyDeletethis is so beautiful and very telling that your thoughts first went to gratitude instead of complaint...(maybe that little exercise for which i cannot remember the letters was helpful?:)
ReplyDeletei am still finding little moments of gratitude in our "tragedy" (the flood) even as my living room is still stacked with furniture. yes..."blessings that surround my life--blessings that cen be taken away in a heartbeat--blessings never to be taken for granted."
love the photo of SW! this was a lovely start to my day!! xoxoxo
Here in Montreal we are remembering the ice storm of ten years ago. I was without power for eight days. It seemed longer. I will never forget the sound of transformers exploding and the groaning of ice covered trees. But it was beautiful! I found kind friends who took me in for a few days. Aside from a candle burn on the underside of a bookshelf, I am none the worse. Sometimes we need to remember how blessed we are, even in adversity.
ReplyDeleteI love little reminders to "count blessing" that blow in during "storms".
ReplyDeleteBarbara - 8 days without power - see, you just gave me another reason to be grateful for the minor inconvenience we endured! Thanks for stoppin' by.
ReplyDeleteWenda - nice to hear from you. Come again soon.
xoxo to you both
SS