Give Thanks Regardless

Living about fifty acres up a dirt road gave me ample time to see our rural Avon lady’s Cadillac swirling dust, making her way towards hopeful sales. She always stopped at my house first, even though she knew I had no money to spend.

Tall, bleached blond, and wafting Avon’s perfume-of-the-month, she bustled in with her large make-up case and the most encouraging smile. I smiled back, but if anyone had asked me, this was the most pitiful time in my life. Here it was a week before Thanksgiving and I barely had enough money to get through the month, much less be thankful.

Of course the Avon lady knew this. She knew everyone’s business along these country roads. Opening her case she pulled out the latest catalog filled with trinkets I could ill afford and special gifts I’d never purchase for me or anyone else. Glancing at the newest eye shadow colors modeled by lovely ladies with perfectly arched eyebrows, I could only wish.

Thanksgiving was supposed to be a time for thanks. What did I have to be thankful for? No money for make-up or trinkets. As if reading my thoughts, the Avon lady asked about our baby girl sleeping in the tiny room down the hall. Born two months too soon, our tiny premie was now thriving.

Give Thanks.

Just then, the washing machine went into its spin cycle—an unimaginably loud clamor reverberating throughout our trailer home. A second-hand, ramshackle machine, but it got the job done.

Give Thanks.

With no clothes dryer, I put the wet heap into a plastic bin. The Avon lady followed me outside into the chilly, late autumn air. She helped pin clothes to the line. Growing up, I’d always had a dryer. Living in the wide-open country, I noticed that no one else had to hang up clothes in the brittle cold. But then, if I had a dryer I never would have known the fresh smell of line-dried laundry.

Give thanks.

She waved as she got into her fancy car—parked next to our relic—but ours had been given to us and it was comfy and reliable.

Give thanks.

Watching the breeze flutter the neat line-up of my family’s clothes, I turned to go inside. Giving thanks isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. Thirty Thanksgivings later, I’m still finding new reasons to

Give Thanks.

Be thankful, whatever the circumstances may be.  1 Thessalonians 5:16 PNT

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