Gratitude

This is a story that I heard in a church I attended many years ago. This has been on my mind a lot lately so I wrote it down to clear my head more than anything else. I don't recall who told it to me or I would credit them here, but it is a story worth sharing.

Once there was this fellow that worked at a factory. He didn't make a lot of money at his job, although, it was an adequate living. As he left the building to the parking lot, he noticed there was a dollar bill laying in the drivers seat of his car. Puzzled, he looked around to see if there was someone there, and he picked up the bill put it in his pocket and went home. The next day, the same exact thing happened. “Someone is doing this just for me!”, he thought. This continued for a couple of weeks. At the beginning of the third week, there was a five dollar bill on the seat. Smiling, he picked it up and put it in his pocket and drove away home. This continued for about a week. The next week, it was a ten dollar bill everyday for a week. He was very excited about this! He was already rushing out to his car everyday just so no one would see that bill on his seat and steal it from him. Right on schedule, the next week there was a twenty dollar bill on the seat. This continued for four days. On Friday that week, he hurried out to his car and there was a one dollar bill on his seat. He was puzzled again. Confusion turned to disappointment, and then to anger. He put the dollar bill in his pocket, slammed the car door and drove away angry.

This story was told to me a long time ago to teach me about being grateful. I wasn't the man in the story, but It could have been me. Sometimes it is me! How grateful am I for the things I receive without asking for them? When life's twenty dollar bill turns into life's dollar bill, can I be thankful? If you noticed, he did nothing for the money, except to pick it up. He wasn't grateful at any time for the money, he was just glad to have it. The family and friends that we have are gifts. Any wealth, prosperity, or health are gifts as well. We should endeavor to do the best that we can with what we have. We get all sorts of blessings we don't deserve or ask for and then get angry when the blessings are taken away. Tell me, what are you thankful for today?