I awoke with a “stiff neck” this morning.  I’d love for gratitude to provide relief!

I’ve been thinking today about how to be grateful for such a thing … it hurts!  But there are some associated things for which to be grateful.  I’m grateful for waking up, that only this one muscle is sore, and I’m grateful that I can feel pain.  There are folks who are impaired in feeling pain – they lack that warning system that something is wrong.  I’m also grateful for the shoulder wrap, the microwave in which to heat the wrap, for heat that gives the muscle some relief.

I’m reminded of the word, “stiffnecked,” in the King James Version of the Bible.  The scripture admonishes, “Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD.” I know the scripture doesn’t refer to this particular pain … but the pain does remind me to be gentle … to yield … and yielding to the Lord is good!

I’m thankful today also for the opportunity to go to the movies.  The movie highlighted the beginning of radio.  Clusters of people gathered round those old boxes and listened intently.  I’m grateful for moving pictures to flesh out the voices. 

In education we know that some folks have a preference for learning … through hearing, through seeing, some through doing.  I’m not an auditory learner … my preference is visual … I want to see the lesson, to see how something works, to see a map, to see the words on a page or the pictures in a story.  The radio doesn’t interest me much at all … I would have been at a loss in those early days of technology.

I’m thankful for this day … for life, pain, heat, comfort, for movies, relaxation.  God is good in it all!