The Daily Load

I guess I'm pretty patriotic...I get teary at the National Anthem and upset when folks talk or don't take off their hats during it. I place my hand over my heart when I say the Pledge.  And if I happen to be at a parade where vets are marching? Forget it--the tears run down unashamed for their service and sacrifice to help secure the freedoms I enjoy every day. So, Happy Birthday America! Land of the free, home of the brave!

I was listening to talk radio on the way home yesterday and there were two vets sharing about how great our country is. One was a WWII vet who described about rationing and having to black out all windows that faced the ocean so the subs couldn't see the shoreline. Amazing...One talked about his humble beginnings and how we was able to work himself up into public office through various jobs and opportunities..."You can't do that in Communist Russia!" he declared.  But then folks began to call in and complain about all the stuff that's wrong in this country...blahblahblah..

In my devotional for today, which ironically was for some date in October and not July 4th, the verse was Psalm 68:19: "Blessed be the LORD, who daily loads us with benefits..." YES! Glass half full person that I am, I get really irritated with people who complain about things, who can't see a blessing in anything, naysayers, doomsdayers, pessimists...As my father used to so eloquently say, "We have so much for which to be thankful". 

Now granted, I failed US History in 9th grade (too much note passing and story writing) and had to go to summer school. So I'm not 100% sure of why we fought which war, who all was involved, how it all played out and what freedoms were afforded to me by the outcomes...or at least the details--I usually consult the resident expert (Mark) who is well schooled in such areas. But in the context of the verse I read today, I can think of the "daily load" of benefits that come from being an American. Are things perfect? FAR from it...Yet there are every day things I think we often take for granted that living in the USA provides...I thought about this as I sat in my front window reading my Bible without fear, which I couldn't do in some countries. 

Easing out of the America praise a bit, I love that this verse also serves to remind me of the minutia of daily benefits I often recall when I pray..thanking the Lord for coffee and clean, running water...that I can live/work/drive in air conditioning, I only have a 17 minute commute when I work in Atlantic City, my knees have held up for the 24 years I've been a runner, I only have to work one job, the electric is on...

I try my best to encourage others to see the blessings of each day, especially my kids. Granted, I've never been homeless so I can't even begin to imagine how their situations must weigh heavily on their hearts and minds. Still, when they plant themselves in the office chair and begin noshing on my basket of Reese's Peanut Butter cups and spew forth their list of complaints, I always gently try to shift their thinking. "Do you have a place to lay your head at night now? Are you out in the street all night or sleeping in air conditioning? Will you have 3 meals and a snack today? Can you wash your clothes if you need to? If you need someone to talk to, are there staff who are dedicated to serving you who are here to listen"? etc. They usually end up smiling and mumbling, "You right..."

So be thankful for YOUR daily load today. And if you hear someone bemoaning their lot, try to load some daily benefits into their half empty glass.