BY SUSAN YOUNG
Our Father’s House
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things,” Philippians 4:8.
As I drove to work today, I was so thankful for the sunshine. It felt good to see blue skies and have clear visibility. Such is life in the Central Valley, where we go days on end covered in fog.
I began to think of all the things I take for granted. Looking at things with fresh eyes today made me stop and count my blessings. Sometimes, days of fog can lead you to appreciate the sun.
I moved to Los Banos before we had a Walmart, a Target or many fast-food places. We were a much smaller community back then, about 18,000 people.
Our kids walked home from school, stopping by Nick’s Shoe Repair to buy candy. The kids parked at the car wash on Saturday nights and Loftin Stadium was the place to be on a Friday night.
Our May Day Fair hosted some pretty famous names each year for entertainment and we gathered for 4th-of-July fireworks on the 4th of July. We shopped downtown, stopping by Los Banos Drugs for a phosphate or a meal at the lunch counter.
We didn’t have many services, but we had what we needed. Sure, there were things to complain about: the schools implemented a uniform policy our kids hated, and our kids went to school year-round to ward off overcrowding, but in all honesty, it wasn’t as bad as all that.
We are less grateful now, and yet we have more things. I spent the day thinking about how much I take for granted, and how my city, the city the Lord has placed me in, makes me slow down and breathe deeply.
I began to make a list of the blessings I need to count when taking a good, hard look at our community and my life. I am grateful for a six-minute commute to work. It used to be 2 hours each way.
A few weeks ago, a person was driving 20 miles an hour, with his right blinker on, and I actually exclaimed out loud, “Goodness! Can you please at least go the speed limit, and how long must I anticipate your right turn?”
This morning, I realized I should have counted my blessings: an extra 2 minutes in “traffic” still beats a 2-hour commute, hands down. I had to apologize to the Lord for a bad attitude; instead of seeing the sun, I basked in the fog, complaining.
I have made lasting friendships and new ones that have emerged that I know will be long-lasting. I am grateful for the sign on Pacheco and 6th Street welcoming people to our downtown. I know our downtown isn’t what it could be… yet the sign was built with the optimism of a better future.
Let’s look for the good, directing our gaze to the bright future we could have if we focus on the promises rather than the problems. It takes all of us working together. It takes faith in the unseen to manifest the scene.
What are you grateful for? What are you willing to do to make where you’ve been set by God to make it better? You have gifts and talents to accomplish the purpose of the Kingdom for the Westside. Let’s put it to use.
Blessings, in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
