Evening Thanks

A few years ago, I got into the habit of saying "Thank you" to the Lord each night before I fall asleep. It's the last conscious thing I do before I fade out, and only when I am actually in bed with the lights finally out.
Some days, it's hard to find something to be thankful for.

Well, that's not true. There is always a short list that I can start out with, no matter how badly the day has gone.

"Thank you, Father," I'll begin, "for the hot water I was blessed with for my shower."

Then I'll move onto the washer and dryer in the utility room of my double-wide mobile home. From the time I was about 21 until I was 62, I had to use self-service laundry places or laundry rooms in an apartment complex. Never were these near to the front door. Always, at these times, 41 years, I had to carry laundry back and forth, anywhere from several buildings away to several blocks away. So trust me when I say that even though that is on my "when I can't think of anything else to be thankful for" list, it is a truly big thing for me and I am truly thankful.

Another thing on that list is whatever food I had that day to eat. I remember when we were little kids, how often we had stewed tomatoes on bread for supper. So, anything more than that is luxury compared to other times in my life, long ago as it may have been.

Yet another is the mattress beneath my bod and the pillow beneath my head. When we first moved from California to Las Vegas, our things were still in storage. At first, we tried sleeping on folding outdoor chaise lounges with sheepskin throws for softness. After a few weeks, we tried folding cots. Eventually, we had to give in and buy mattresses, but the box springs and frames came even later than that. So, a mattress, lumpy or not, is always a luxury to me.

I thank him, too, for these days since 2001 when we have a self-contained home, even though it isn't a newer one and it has issues. For 41 years, I lived in multi-dwelling buildings - people call them apartments. I had people above me, below me, and beside me. I could hear their every sin and pleasure, and they could hear mine. Now, I am so wonderfully grateful for these past 10 years of privacy.

The list goes on. I thank him for my eyes because I saw some beautiful trees today, or my ears because I heard a bird's sweet song today, or the fact that I can feel the silky fur on my 14 year old kitty. Oh, yes, and I dare not forget to thank him for my kitty.

So, even though I might have trouble beginning my bedtime list of things I am grateful for each day, I always end up with far more than I could at first imagine. Even on a bad day, I go to sleep being thankful for the glorious things of that day.

On a good day? It is joyous.

Father, thank you for everything you have done for me, every day of my life, every moment. I pray that I never forget how many things I have to be grateful for.