What We Don’t Have

March 23, 2018

A man was sentenced to 107 years in prison today for attempted murder of his girlfriend, and her father and mother. A young man is in prison for the beating death of his girlfriend’s baby, while she has been indicted for endangering the welfare of a child. Another woman was acquitted in the death of her boyfriend, but sentenced for a weapons violation. That’s just in one day in our area. 

My day was not quite so momentous. Talking and praying with a friend, counseling and praying for a young man, finishing my Sunday’s sermon, jazz band rehearsal, dinner and our grandkids’ school musical. Pretty ordinary stuff, most of which is of little concern or interest to others, so although I give thanks, in and of itself, this day is not much to write about. Except for one fact. 

Sometimes we are thankful not only for what has happened, but even more for what didn’t. We weren’t the victims of violence, nor were we perpetrators. We continue to benefit from the example and instruction of our parents, and from wise decisions made when we weren’t wise enough to make them. Instead of a family torn apart by anger and violence, we sat with family and friends enjoying the performance of three of our granddaughters. We go to bed tonight tired, but in peace and gratitude not just for what we have, but for what we do not have. Sometimes the best blessings are in the minus column.