by Pat Nordman

Dr. Charlotte Kasl wrote something that really touched my heart and made me realize that we take too much for granted in our lives: "So next time you sit down to a simple supper, crawl into a cozy bed, have a warm chat with a friend — Imagine that you are at the end of the rainbow ... this is life, and it's wonderful ...."

We lose sight of so many blessings — rainbows — in life. I think it's because we have so many that we no longer even recognize what a blessing is. A few years ago I started thanking God for the hot water each time I take a shower. That sounds a bit silly, perhaps, but at least it makes me aware that hot water is a gift we take for granted every minute of the day to wash self, children, clothes and dishes. Just think if we stepped into the shower and -- no hot water! Just think if there were no water at all!

Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote one of the best books I've read on the character and characteristics of our Lord Jesus. It's titled The Manhood of the Master, published in 1913 (I am fortunate to live near a used-book store just blocks away from our house where I found this gem). From the chapter titled "The Master's Endurance," I quote: "[Jesus] made the best out of one of the most unideal situations that ever faced a great soul. He did not demand a different farm to labor on; he went to work on the farm that he had, and grew harvests on that, which have been feeding the world ever since. His life sounds a courageous call to all of us: Stop whining; stop pitying yourself; see what you can do, by the help of God, with your unideal situation, for God never would have given it to you without some fine possibilities in it."

I do believe we'd all be happier if we had fewer demands and if we worked on our marriage and our situation and our farm that we already have. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 16:6: "The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance." What a promise that is when we become discontented.

Pat Nordman