The 30 Days of Thankfulness project was developed to help me rebuild the muscle of writing and publishing. There were a number of months when it was difficult for me to click publish on blog posts. Like the muscles of the body, writing and creativity work best when it’s done often. The more I write, the more I want to write. More importantly, the more I write, the more ideas I have for what to write.
Thinking more about thankfulness has helped me to become a more thankful person. I’ve found myself looking for opportunities to be thankful when I might have zoomed right past that chance only a few weeks ago.
On my way to work this morning, I was approaching a stoplight with two left turn signals that were both a solid red. A gold SUV sat in the turn lane to the right and a smaller car was slowing down in front of me. While my car was rolling to a stop, the brake lights of the car in front of me turned off. The smaller car accelerated and turned left through the red light.
I’m not naive and I know that people run lights with regularity. But, in all of the times I’ve waited for that left turn signal to change, I’ve never seen someone run that light.
While I rolled forward and even with the driver in the other lane, i thought about what I would do if he looked over at me. When I got in sight of his window I saw the other driver looking my way. As we made eye contact we both shrugged our shoulders and then laughed. Kind of a “whatcha gonna do?” type moment.
I’ve thought about that interaction all day. So often, driving is an isolating experience. While I am driving next to dozens of other people, we hardly interact. There aren’t many times when I can remember positive communication happening with me and other drivers. About the only time I acknowledge other drivers is when I am frustrated with how they are driving.
That’s what made the experience this morning so memorable. There was something about the shared shoulder shrug that was refreshing. We both were witnesses to an event that was peculiar and we acknowledged that we both thought it was interesting.
So I am thankful for that interaction this morning with the guy in the gold SUV. But more than that, I am thankful that I’ve been more apt to be thankful for smaller moments, events, and experiences in my life.
How about you?
Have you had any moments similar to the one I described above? Walking in the parking lot, at an event with lots of other people, or at the park, have you witnessed something that someone else did as well and you just looked at each other like - did you just see that? If so, please share!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
-1 Chronicles 16:34
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