It wasn’t just good news, it was great news. I haven’t been this happy since Jolene Litton showed me how to start a new paragraph when I was writing on my computer. The great news is this. Boiling Springs, NC now has a bagel shop. Have you been there yet! Life is worth living! My world has achieved completeness and my Parkinson’s disease is now only a headache and some muscle stiffness! I am happy and I know it though my face doesn’t surely show it…. I’m happy and I know it and I’ll clap my hands.
I can get up in the morning and treat myself to a cinnamon raisin bagel with walnut/ honey cream cheese or a jalapeno shallot and chive creation. I can take a road trip and get a jerkylike, untoasted unsliced whole grain bagel and chew on it like a rawhide toy all the way to my destination. Yes , life is good because our town finally has a bagel shop!
Sunday I spoke about celebration in the life of the church and rejoicing over what God has done. As an example, I used the story of the Israelites rejoicing because the Jerusalem wall, after many years of trial and difficulty was finally completed. Of course we celebrate the big stuff… the obvious. But what about the other smaller instances and circumstances. Are these to be celebrated as well? Can these be considered good news to be highlighted? My personal response is yes and it is manifested in possessing what the late Grady Nutt called “an attitude of Gratitude.”
This means that we find thankfulness is an attitude. It’s not just a day to say, “thank you, will you pass the turkey”. It’s a way of life and life includes being thankful for a lot of “little” stuff like:
- Reconnecting with an old friend
- A baby ‘s smile
- A needed reconciliation and the forgiveness that goes with it
- Family reunions
- Tater tots
- Hamburgers (with chili , onions , slaw ,and mustard)
- Or you could just lose all sense of reason and celebrate the opening of a bagel shop.
God blesses in a variety of ways! That’s good news.
Be thankful.
Andy O.