Clothespins and Thankfulness

Wednesday 1/14/2015 4:39 AM

I am a man of routine, of habit. I get up at about 4:00, set the coffee, and go for a run. When I return I pour a cup of coffee, and then I have a time of Bible reading, meditation and writing in my journal. Then I usually do the LA Times crossword puzzle, read the news headlines and make my moves in the Scrabble games I play with family and friends online. At about 6:00 I go into the kitchen, pour a 6-ounce glass of tomato juice, a bowl of Cheerios with milk (no sugar), and proceed to eat my breakfast. I then take a shower and get ready for my day of teaching, leaving the house in time for my 7:00 class.

I love my Cheerios and want to keep them as fresh as possible so, when I open the bag inside the box, I carefully fold it over and secure it with a clothespin to maintain a relatively airtight seal. I do the same with potato chips bags, saltine cracker sleeves, pancake mix, bags of vegetables, etc., so I have a section in the silverware drawer solely for clothespins or other similar fasteners. Yesterday I opened a new Cheerios box and reached in the drawer for a clothespin. When I attached it to the Cheerios bag I noticed it had the words “Thank you” written on it with a pen. I think we got it from a neighbor who brought some Christmas goodies to our house.

As I read the “Thank you” on the clothespin I realized how little I consciously thank God for the simple, but important, things of life, like a glass of tomato juice and a bowl of Cheerios to eat every day. For the ability to run, eyes to read my devotional material, a mind that is clear and untroubled by depression or other maladies, my health and a job that I love. The list could go on. I spent the time I ate and got ready for school thanking God for everything I could think of. I’m quite certain I missed thanking God for more things than I actually thanked him for but I found that, as I went through my day, I had a greater awareness of God’s care for me throughout the day. I think I’ll dedicate the “Thank you” clothespin exclusively for the Cheerios bag as a constant reminder to live a life of thankfulness.