Front Line Gratitude

October 26th is National First Responder's Day. Painted hearts on old, wooden pallets have adorned the sidewalks, mailboxes and front lawns of homes. Blue light displays, sidewalk chalk messages, poster board collages, cards, letters and notes flood hospitals, nursing homes, emergency, EMT, fire and police departments. We are grateful to all first responders beyond compare! We are ever thankful and owe a great debt to all of those on the front lines who have served us in very personal ways since this horrible virus has taken over our lives. How wonderful it is, how fantastic it continues, that people thought to thank these courageous men and women right from the very beginning. There was no delay of gratitude. Thanks be to our good God for the marvelous gift of these persons to us who thought of others ahead of their own safety. Despite great risks to themselves, they served us in ways we needed the most.

How wonderful God's holy people are! Very early on I found myself in a local pharmacy where make-shift plexiglass separated us from the cashiers behind the counters. Stickers on the floor told us where to stand. I noticed an elderly woman ahead of me with some difficulty reach for a large candy bar on the shelves under the cash register. When the cashier finished processing her purchases, the woman reached for the purchased candy bar and handed it to the worker, and said, "Thank you, this is for you." How touched all of us were; how inspired and how challenged. That small gesture was powerful to all of us who witnessed it. People who have gone into work and who allow us to buy milk and bread and necessities like gas and provisions are to be thanked and acknowledged.

It is never too late to offer thanks! Make certain it is part of your daily activities and do not discount any small gesture or act of kindness you might be inclined to offer. Thanks, and ever thanks!















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