“I’m Grateful!”

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

Even though I’m here at home, I still have “adventures.” The most recent one involved the baboons we have here. They were running all over, and playing on my roof. Then they came around to the front of the house. A big male came to the door with a mother and baby behind him. I was standing right there so he could see me, but he wasn’t bothered. He stood on his hind legs and tried to open the door. He was puzzled when he tried the handle and it didn’t open—so he tried again. No luck!

I didn’t notice until after that that he had opened my back door. He reached in through the security gate and opened the inside door, but he was too big to climb through the gate. Thank goodness there weren’t little ones right there or they would have climbed in. I’ve never had that happen with the back door before. Now I’ll know to bolt it when they’re around.

And then, just today, the male came back by himself. He was very quiet. No dogs were barking because the troop wasn’t with him. I suddenly saw him at the door again. He tried the handle repeatedly. When he couldn’t get in, he started eating my flowers outside. Maybe it was a protest! I had to laugh at him.

So—my life isn’t dull! I’m not a fan of these baboons, but they do make life interesting.

There’s a question that I’ve often been asked. I imagine you’ve had it too. Someone will say “how are you?” The standard answer is “I’m fine.” But many times that wasn’t the case. I wasn’t fine. I may have been sick in some way—or discouraged—or overwhelmed. But people don’t want to hear a litany of those things. They’re usually just being polite in asking the question.

Recently someone shared on the Facebook prayer page something her pastor had taught. When someone asks “how are you?”—a good answer is “I’m grateful.” I love that! And it’s true. Even in hard times, my heart is grateful. It’s the perfect answer to that question.

Some things I’m grateful for today:

  • Sunshine!! The last few days have been sooo cold. The sun today warms my heart and my body.
  • Grocery delivery! One good thing that the pandemic brought is delivery service. I can order just about anything and have it delivered.
  • Friends! A friend came over today to help me with something. I so appreciated it.
  • Strength! I had a long list of things to accomplish, and the Lord gave me strength to make it through the list.
  • The internet! It allows me to communicate with all of you from right here in my home. I’m old enough to remember when we had to communicate with letters. It took days to get a message to someone.
  • And I’m grateful the baboons didn’t get in my house!
  • My heart is cheerful – filled with gratitude.