Save Your Receipts

What do a vegetable peeler, Jockey shorts, and an electric heater all have in common? Now that I have your attention..... OK, I'm not kidding. Yesterday I got another reminder in a "life lesson" that actually involves these three items.

I had a brand new, stainless steel vegetable peeler I was itching to try out, so I decided to fix a potato salad before heading out the door to Sunday School. Easier said than done, however, because that peeler was duller than the paint on my friend Nancy's old Ford Tempo. I had to press hard to get it to work at all, and then it would gouge out thick slices. I was disappointed for a couple of reasons. First of all, this was a new peeler, and I expected it to work like a new one. Secondly, a task that should have been a snap took so much longer than I had anticipated.

Enter, the Jockey shorts.... Later in the day, as I was folding clean laundry, I noticed that some of the stitching on Rich's brand-new, worn-only-once underwear had come loose. I was beginning to wonder whatever happened to quality in merchandise. This was brand name underwear, and expensive!

This brings us to one of my electric space heaters, which decided to quietly give up the ghost last evening, three days shy of two month's dedicated service. Humph! I seriously thought I'd get at least one winter's use from it. What in the world was happening?

I'll admit it wasn't my first thought, but after some reflection I remembered that God's Word admonishes us to be thankful, not necessarily "for" all things but "in" all things. In other words, look for something to be thankful about in spite of circumstances. Life's small inconveniences are more easily overcome with a thankful attitude. Relax! Things can be repaired, or returned for a refund. Be thankful for what you do have, not upset by what's broken.