Thankful

First, my apologies for a long overdue post. I suppose that’s one way to keep readers from hitting one’s blog too often—quit posting. If you are here in spite of iterant lapses in posting, I thank you. Sincerely, it’s nice to have one’s thoughts read.

I was thinking about what to write, because at the moment, with the holidays, the free time I’d have had at work last week was spent on vacation to Phoenix. Phoenix was quite nice, and I had a great time spending lots of quality time with my family. My Auntie Pat was a terrific host, and I had all too much fun and leisure from which to leave. I suppose we all have to return to normal lives, leaving vacation, but it is what it is. In short, I had a wonderful time, and I’ll sound all too cliché saying this, but the six days I was in Phoenix went much too quickly.

While I was there, I had a bit of an epiphany. I was there at my grandparents’ retirement community, which provides for meals and care, if care is needed. There we were guests in the dining room, and the people of Royal Oaks, the community where my grandparents live, couldn’t have been nicer. My wonderful Grandma Phyllis is quite well known at Royal Oaks, largely because she is on the board. My grandmother is a sharp lady, and it’s fun to see her doing so well with their community.

I apologize; I digress. There we were in the dining room, and on more than one occasion friends of my grandparents would marvel at how well I’m doing, when they would realize I was “Phyllis and Mel’s grandson.” It’s not very often that I hear people refer to parts of my life that have since passed by a few years, but it happens from time-to-time, mostly around the holidays. At one point a woman said to me, “Matt, we sure did pray for you.”

When she said that, as one would expect, I said, “Thank you very much, those prayers certainly made the difference.” I said that quite sincerely.
The evening continued on, and we went on with dinner. At a later point, after we had left the dining area, I was commenting on being flattered and caught off guard that my circumstances were a topic of discussion. Again, it’s something that I have the good fortune I don’t have to think about very often.

During that discussion, I made the following statement, and it put me back for a moment. I said, “Following such an ordeal, we should all be so fortunate, as to be able to thank those who have prayed for us.”

Reading that after I just now wrote it, for me, again brought in that same meditation. Odds are good if you’re reading this, you too prayed for me a little more than two years ago. For that, I am most thankful—God bless.