Blessed

So after washing the first "load" of our mountain of dishes by hand and drying them the same way, I decided to take a break. So I sat down in our small, well lit, heated apartment at our plain but sturdy table, opened our large control climate unit (keeping it's contents at a balmy ~0 degrees), pulled out a carton of elegant french vanilla ice cream (that I bought, didn't make), got a similarly chilled bottle of liquid chocolate, dabbled a bit on top of a single large-ish scoop of ice cream in a (now nicely washed =P ) desert cup, and sat down listening to my cell phone/mp3 player/organizer play a song that I downloaded from a server somewhere in California after I payed for it with a piece of plastic that automatically navigated dozens of secure protocols, passwords, and verifications in the blink of an eye, never asking me for more then a printed number. Now, I could go on and on about how nice it will be to not have to do the dishes by hand, to have an automatic dishwasher do them for me. Or I could go on about how I should feel guilty about having so much stuff when so much of the world suffers. I could also go on and on about how technology is running ahead of itself, offering too many compromises in security for the speed we take for granted. I could even talk about how I should enjoy it while I have it, because our planet is quickly going to pot while we try to maintain a blind and destructive illusion of maintainability.

But honestly, I am going to talk about being blessed. As I sat with my ice cream, I was struck to take small nibbles, slowly. Not just eat it; but actually savor it as if it were a homemade cheesecake made from scratch served in a beautiful medieval castle in Vinton County (www.ravenwood.com). I recognize that I take a lot for granted; so much small stuff. But not that I felt guilty (though I do, plenty often enough); simply blessed. Stuff like chocolate on my ice cream. Stuff like the ability and resources to contemplate and wrestle with the small parts of God that I "get". God has been good to me; not because I seem to have a (supposed; it's really a hoax) intellect that enjoys the problems of modern engineering; not because God has blessed me with a co-op and parents allowing me to graduate with little/no debt. Not because I have a loving, beautiful wife. But because I have ice cream with chocolate. Because I sit in a sturdy chair. Because I have good music to listen to ("Everything" by Lifehouse). Because God has been good, so good to me, in so many little things because I get too caught up in the "big" stuff He is or is not blessing me with. So next time you get a chance, stop and enjoy the smell of a camp-fire or house-fire on the breeze. Pet the puppy that comes running up to you and gets your pants all muddy. Recognize that God loved you so much that He would do and give you small things far beyond your ability to see them all; that a large portion of, even the majority, will go by unnoticed by you or me. Tomorrow, feel pressured, guilty, anxious, or worried, or excited about the big stuff; today, feel blessed.