One afternoon a man came home from work to find total mayhem in his house. His three children were outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.  The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.  In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.  In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife.  He was worried she may be ill, or that something serious had happened.  He found her lounging in the bedroom, still curled in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel.  She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"

She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and ask me what in the world I did today?"

"Yes" was his incredulous reply.

She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

We often take for granted those things that others do for us, and it sometimes takes them stopping for us to appreciate what they do.  The same thing is also true of blessings we enjoy.  How often do we think about such wonderful blessings as electricity and running water?  We seem to appreciate them a lot more after a power outage or a break in the water main!

Ironically, the things which we should be most thankful for (because they are continually there) are the things we are most likely to take for granted. Here's a sobering thought -- what if God said one day, "You know all those thing I usually do for you. Today I didn't do them!"

May we never take for granted what God does for us day after day.

"I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will
bless Your name forever and ever.  Everyday
I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.   Great is the LORD, and
greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:1-3)