A Heart That Is Grateful

I’m browsing the internet during my lunch break. I’m trying to decide whether to take advantage of a Cyber Monday sale. The hammock I’ve been eying for a year is thirty percent off.

I’m not a possession-oriented person. My life doesn’t revolve around what I own.  But there are some things I’d like to have. I’d like to trade in my 2005 Neon for a new Jeep. I wish I had a nice set of headphones. And right now, I want to buy that hammock. But before I put it into my online cart, my phone rings. I don’t recognize the number, but I pick up.

“Logan, this is Keith. I manage your apartment building.”

“Is everything alright?” I ask.

“Well, there’s a leak in your apartment. Water is coming out of your wall and into the hallway.”

My stomach balks.

I rush to my office, slip on my coat, and take off down the hallway. My mind is running even faster than I am. What if there’s water damage? A box of books from my childhood is on my closet floor. I left my laptop propped against my nightstand.  Water can create all sorts of mold problems. What if I have to leave my apartment until everything is cleaned up?

I make it to my building and enter the elevator. I jam the button to my floor. There’s an eternity between the staccato beeps that mark my journey upward.

“Lord,” I pray. Please protect my home. Please preserve my belongings.”

When the elevator opens, I see a trickle of water snaking from my apartment’s wall into the hallway. I open the door to my apartment. Part of me expects to unleash a tidal wave.

But for the most part, everything looks normal. The most unusual thing is that a man is inspecting the kitchen sink.

“I’ve got things under control,” he says. “I don’t see any damage a mop can’t fix.”

I exhale, long and deep. I feel relieved.

I also feel thankful. Grateful that I have a warm, dry place to live. Thankful for the things that fill my apartment. I look around, and I see what I usually take for granted. A bed. A recliner. A television. Things that I feel entitled to.

But I’m not entitled to any of them. And there are people without them.

"Father," I pray. "You've given me so much, but I'm asking for two more things. Give me eyes that see all you have given me. And give me a heart that is grateful."