Three Things:
1. Today I am grateful for a bathroom that is 20 steps from my bedside.
When I was fourteen years old. We moved from Kansas to Kenya. Our house was way out in the bush and Mt Kilimanjaro could be seen from my bedroom window. Our house consisted of trees hammered into the ground with sheets of metal wrapped around to form walls rising from a foundation of hand-smoothed concrete. The roof was made of the same metal, and none of it was very well-connected. Various unidentifiable bugs came and went at a leisurely pace.
The “bathroom” consisted of a deep hole in the backyard (about 30 feet from our house) with a shed built around it. The toilet consisted of a strategically placed upside down trashcan with a hole cut out of the top and a toilet lid glued on top. Voila, 20th century technology at its best!
This was all fine and good except at night. I hated when I needed to go to the bathroom at night. The hyenas howled non-stop, and various other “jungle” noises were terrifying in the pitch black.
And, there was one other factor. The precious Maasai community had celebrated our arrival with a goat roast and naming ceremony. (My Maasai name is “Yeamot” by the way.) It was a wonderful celebration and very kind, but the goat head skeleton was left on the outhouse dirt pile. When you went out at night in the pitch black, with hyenas howling all around, the flashlight would inevitably rest on the frightening goat skeleton head. My breath would catch, and I would pray my way courageously onward.
So, this morning, when I awoke 30 minutes before my alarm clock in a cozy bed in an air-conditioned house, I felt grateful. Grateful for 20 steps of fearless serenity.
2. Grateful for the sound of rain on windows. No matter what is happening in the moment, the sound is always soothing.
3. Grateful for Fish Tacos with mangos. Confession time: I have actually eaten them two days in a row. That is true love.
I would love to hear what you are grateful today!
Gratitude 