By late this afternoon I was having a bad day. It was hot and humid and I was working in the yard. This was complicated by the lawn mower not wanting to start. Also, my calf muscle cramped up earlier in the day and it was still very tender from the knot so I could only walk with some difficulty. My kids were unhappy about something as was my wife. Did you ever have one of those days? This was one of them.

Then the phone rang and I got the word. It didn’t come as a real surprise as I had heard the fire engines last night, alot of them. And when I went outside to get the paper this morning there was a hint of smoke. If I didn’t know better I would say a house had burned………but that doesn’t happen anymore, does it?

It does. A house on the other side of our subdivision got hit by lightning last night and burned to the ground. There is nothing left.

Suddenly my problems didn’t seem so big. My son, the same one who was displaying a serious lack of gratitude earlier in the day, asked if we could go out for ice cream. I hesitated for a moment but knew I would cave in. I was simply too thankful for having a house and having my family. Without saying a word, my wife was my best friend and partner again. Whatever had been bothering me earlier was, somehow, less important. Of course we would go for ice cream because that is what a family does in summer. At least a family that is not coping with the total loss of their home.

So, next time you are having a bad day I encourage you to remember that it probably could be alot worse. We are not getting shot at, we have our homes, we have our families. And I am not saying the issues you are dealing with are not important, they are. I am suggesting that you keep them in perspective.

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