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By MaryHelen Swanson
I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but we here in East Central Minnesota have been spared ... spared the tornadoes, the fires, the flooding, the cyclones and the earthquakes.
Whatever our troubles may be, we must be thankful we are not pulling our neighbors out from under piles of rubble, or starving to death because our government will not allow a foreign nation to enter and bring in supplies.
We must be thankful that we do not have to bury our friends or dig through crumbled buildings searching for lifeless bodies with the smell of rotting flesh overcoming us and turning over our empty stomachs.
We, who have been blessed with suitable moments to rid ourselves of unwanted household items or make a little money with our garage sale days, should take time to consider our fortune.
Those old sheets and blankets we sold for a buck or so would now be welcomed by people who have nothing to cover them as the nights turn cold.
Those old pots and pans could be used to heat water to make hot tea in a chipped cup or wash the scum from floors that are covered with mud.
Those piles of stuffed animals with pretty pink bows and brown button eyes could be comforting little children who will never again sleep in their own safe beds, as humble as they may have been.
It’s every day, every time we turn on the news - more national and worldwide tragedy.
So we complain about the price of gasoline, we grumble at the cost of milk and bread.
Well, we have gasoline and milk and bread. Right now in hurting places in the world they do not.
We never know, what the world has in store for us each day. And we can’t control everything. That does leave us pretty vulnerable, doesn’t it?
The only thing to do then is to appreciate the days we have that are good, the families we have who love us, the things we have that clutter our homes and garages.
If you pray, this is a good week to pray for mankind around the world. If you don’t, it still is a good time to consider how fortunate we here in East Central Minnesota really are.
As for me, I’m praying, for that’s what gets me through times like these.
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