taking things for granted

Have you ever really thought about how much in life we take for granted? Especially in our culture and our society we take a lot of things for granted. Have you ever really seriously thought about it?

It's something that has been on my mind for the last couple of days and most definitely is now. I just got home from the Starfield concert in Kelowna tonight. (It was awesome!) The concert that was the first one after they watched the floor collapse in front of them at their concert in Abbottsford on Friday night during their second song. You could see in their faces and hear it in their voices when they spoke about it that they were still struggling with all that happened that night. (Praise the Lord, there were no fatalities! But there are injured people and others at that concert that need our prayers right now.)

All this got me thinking . . . we take so much for granted in our lives everyday . . . even something as simple as the floor beneath us not collapsing. We just assume that it always will be there; which we should be able to most of the time, if the building has been built right. We take for granted that the floor we walk on is secure and won't buckle and collapse underneath us. And that's not even all that we take for granted.

In our part of the world we take for granted that there will be food on the table for each meal, that we will have a warm bed to sleep in, that we won't be shot or tortured for what we believe . . . and so many other things. And for the most part, those will be things that we can count on to be there for all of our lives. But, that should make them reasons to be thankful for what we have, not something that we take for granted and assume will always be there for us.

Think about it: What do you take for granted in your life?

The list for me is pretty long:
- that I have a loving family behind me every step of the way
- that I have a good job to go to each day
- that I have enough money to buy what I want for food and clothes
- that I have amazing friends and roommates to come home to each day
- that I have a (mostly) reliable car to get me where I want to go
- that I can go to church without worrying about what will happen to me because of it
- that I can sit in a park on a gorgeous day and read my Bible without fear
- that I have a roof over my head and a warm bed to sleep in
- that I have amazing, caring friends to walk the journey of life with
That's what comes to mind when I think about what I often take for granted in my life. And there's probably more that I could add to that list if I thought about it more.

Think about it: When was the last time that you said thank you to God for all these things He has blessed you with that you take for granted? When was the last time you let those people you sometimes take for granted know how much you appreciated having them in your life?

I know for me, before tonight, it had been way too long. I'd gotten used to them being there - so used to them that I'd forgotten what a privilege and blessing they are. But, tonight I was reminded of that. Now I just need to figure out how to keep myself from taking it all for granted again . . . or atleast remind myself regularly that all those things I take for granted are incredible gifts from God that I have been given.