Isn’t it funny, what we take completely for granted?
We take for granted the peace and quiet we have in our neighborhoods, then a noisy new neighbor takes the place next door and the peace and quiet are gone.
And it doesn’t have to be as serious as a new neighbor; perhaps it’s just an adorable puppy next door that grows into a barking dog, rising far earlier than its humans, barking to greet the day or be let inside the castle.
When we go to the beach or most anywhere else we take the availability of clean bathrooms for granted, until they are not.
Perhaps it is as simple as expecting to get out of your driveway on a warm Sunday afternoon or get to and return from the food store within one mile in less than an hour and a half.
Perhaps it is friends or family we hold dear, never thinking that on any given day they could up and announce a move far, far away in search of fame or fortune.
Maybe we take our fame, fortune or reputation or even health for granted and then in a blink of an eye, there is a reversal bringing a rapid reality check.
We have to be careful what we put our faith in; not everything is as it seems.
Maybe it is as simple as putting faith in the plumbing or AC and then it fails on a hot day or with a house full of guests.
Perhaps we put our faith in our good credit rating, only to become the victim of credit fraud or awash in an unfortunate medical emergency.
Or it could be it all tumbles down when the tax return is hijacked by fraudsters.
My goal is not to cast doom and gloom, but to cause a sobering look at what we rely on not changing, on always being there and solid.
Perhaps what we put our faith in is the soundness of a home, built twenty feet in the air on concrete pilings next to a beautiful river.
Or that when we look outside the rain will stop, not fall, and fall and fall.
How about taking the air temp for granted; who imagined a day would come when the temperature in May would rise to become a death sentence to so many.
We take it for granted what we paid for something last time will be about what the cost would be the next time and it is not always the case.
We even take it for granted that when we lie down on our towel at the beach strand the person next to us is not wearing a house arrest ankle bracelet.
As we look up from our uber busy lives, give thought to what you take for granted, and how secure you believe your footing to be. It might surprise you.
For me, as I watch world and national events play out in living color day after day, it is good to know what is important and what is not; Who I belong to and where my foundation really is.
Proverbs 4:7 says wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom, with all your getting, get understanding.
