What We Take For Granted

This post probably won’t make sense to you unless you have ever been so sick you just wanted to die, so I’m sorry if it doesn’t apply, or grosses you out!

This week, I was sick. I don’t mean just a little cold that is more annoying than debilitating, I mean REALLY sick. I had Influenza B, and I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to go to heaven as much as I did on Monday. This type of Influenza basically starts out with the worst stomach flu imaginable, and then progresses into a really bad cold. All day Monday, I couldn’t keep even a sip of water down. I have never been so thirsty in all of my life! All I wanted was a drink of water, but I didn’t want to risk it.

It occurred to me in my semi-conscious state that I take water for granted WAY too often. If you’ve ever gone an entire day without a sip of liquid, you know what I mean. How many times a day do I go get a glass of water, take one sip, and dump the rest out? A little too often, apparently.

This got me thinking about what else I take for granted. There are so many things that I do not appreciate for their true value.

It is only when you are deprived of something that you begin to see its true importance.

How true is that statement? Sometimes we don’t care about something until it is taken away from us. This applies to people, possessions, and many other things. Not long ago, a family moved away from my church. I had babysat for them a couple of times, and really loved their kids. I did not realize what a part of our church body they were until they left. It was not until I wasn’t able to hug the kids that I realized how important they were to me.

And what about Jesus? It was only when he was hung on the cross that people came to see Him as the Messiah. Imagine how guilty you would feel if your whole life you had scorned Him, and then you come to find He is truly the Messiah! Jesus was taken for granted in possibly the worst way ever. His pain was immense at the hands of those who did not believe.

This week, I had to read the Diary of Anne Frank and write several essays about it. I love this book, and was glad to read something so interesting. Anne also took many things for granted and did not realize it until she went into hiding. She was deprived of so many things, and only realized their importance after they were taken from her. Her worst struggle was loneliness, because she could only see the eight people in hiding with her every day. How horrible would it be to be deprived of people?! I am not much of a people person, but I could not live without any interaction with people.

Think about it this week, and make a list of all the things you take for granted. I promise you that it will make you feel tremendously blessed. Isn’t it amazing how much we have that we don’t even know about?