A day to be thankful

I'm sitting here in a café drinking my double shot espresso and contemplating the annoyance that is slow internet. So far there have been several things that have made my day not go the way I was thinking it would. At the moment I am missing a pre-planned Skype date with a friend. The internet is so slow I can't even access my emails. I left my wallet at home with my spare airtime. It's just started really raining and it's my washing day. The power has gone out. Because of the rain I'm now stuck at the café until it stops.

With all these possible complaints about to burst into my consciousness I have to stop myself and be thankful. Recently I've been reminded again and again of the power of thankfulness and the relative ease and speed with which I can slip into a negative frame of mind.

So today I am thankful that I'm warm and dry and have a place to be so until the rain decides to stop. I'm thankful for the stash of money I found in my bag as it means if I'm rained in for the day I can get some food. I'm thankful for the fact that the storm and the rain are reminders of God's provision and that the farmers who were concerned about the slow start to the wet season at least for today have their fears allayed. I'm thankful for the sound of rain. I'm thankful for the things I managed to get done yesterday so that I don't have to worry about them today. I'm thankful for the enforced moment of rest when I may have otherwise felt that I should be somewhere else doing something else. I'm thankful that I don't have email and facebook to distract me from writing this. I'm thankful that I have a laptop that has an hour or so on the battery in which time the power may come on again. I'm thankful that I was already here at the café when the rain started and not halfway between. I'm thankful that the trip Anne had planned to one of our Australia HOPE International schools today was cancelled and therefore there is no chance that I will have to risk a bogged car.

I'm also thankful for so many other constants in my life. From the resources I have access to, to friends, both those in Uganda and all around the world. I'm thankful for material things and those that are less tangible. I'm thankful for my health and ability to reason and experience emotion. I'm thankful for the beauty that I see in the world around me and I'm also thankful that in the face of everything that is awful in this world I can respond with love because I have been loved.

If I sit here thinking instead of thanking I'm a person I don't want to be.

So I'll sit here and wait it out being thankful for the time to write this blog, one of which I feel is woefully overdue, hoping that the rain will stop in time for my language lesson and music practice tonight and that internet will manage to send this out there into cyber space.

Have a blessed week

bron

ps – I’m very thankful that despite slow internet I managed to have a typed Skype date with my friend, managed to check some emails and the power came back on (whether generator or mains I’m not sure but as long as my computer has not died I’m so happy).