Stale Cheese

   I was talking to Bishop Nealy at a baptism recently. We were discussing prayer and the fact that I dislike praying out loud in front of people. On those times when I am asked to offer a prayer out loud I tend to insert one or two smart-alec type things. I do this partly because I mean it, but also in hopes that I won't be asked again. It hasn't worked.
  Bishop Nealy then introduced me to the principle of "stale cheese". He described prayer as a sandwich. You start with "Our Father" and end with "in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen". This is the bread. In between the bread is any thing you want to add. If you want a good sandwich you must use fresh ingredients. The same is true for prayer. You would never add stale cheese to your sandwich, You should not use stale statements in your prayer. He asked his daughter to give an example of stale cheese in a prayer. Her example was the phrase "Thank you for this day." What makes this stale cheese is if it is just something you say to say something. A way to improve this phrase is to be more specific. "Thank you for this day because it is sunny."
  I was thinking of this principle when deciding what to write about today. Thankfulness and the "attitude of gratitude" are filling the air. (well that and ads for deals on Black Friday) Every year either I or the cats write about things for which we are grateful. Writing down your blessings is a good thing to do, but I worry because I keep writing the same things down. I'm truly grateful for the things I write down, but I think my gratitude list has some stale cheese in it. Today I'm going to list a few unconventional things for which I am grateful.
   I am grateful for hair colour. My hair when left to it's normal state is 3/4 white and 1/4 dark brown. I've been colouring it for the last 15 years. I colour it not out of vanity, but because I like the way I look better with darker hair. I'm grateful that there is hair colour that I'm not allergic to and I'm grateful to my hairdresser who always does such a good job. I always leave the salon looking and feeling beautiful even on days when I don't feel like that going in.
  I'm grateful for winter. I like the look of a clean,white blanket of snow on the ground. I'm grateful for the cold which teaches me to appreciate the warm weather. I'm grateful for the fact that it forces me to stay inside and get things done that I don't in the warmer months. Winter allows me to recharge and reflect. Since I am a rampant introvert, it gives me a good excuse to hibernate in my home without offending anyone.
   I'm grateful to Dana, my knitting teacher. She introduced me to a hobby that satisfies a lot of needs for me. It helps my hands to stay limber. It gives my eyes colours of yarn to feast on. The products of my knitting can be put to practical use. It may even lower blood pressure and reduce stress. (At least that's what I see on the internet) I love to knit and wish I had more time to do it.
  While I'm thinking about knitting, I'm also grateful for yarn. I go to a yarn shop or craft store and am amazed at  all the different types of yarn. There are different weights and different sources. There is the self patterning yarn which is my favourite. Self patterning yarn has more than one colour in it and the colour changes are random. I can knit something very plain with self patterning yarn and it will look stunning.  I can knit several washcloths, hats, what have you with the same kind of self patterning yarn and it will look different every time.
   I'm grateful for my red tea mug. It works well as a hand warmer and keeps my tea nice and hot while I sip at it. I like the cherry red colour it has and the picture of the  Union Pacific 4017 Big Boy train that is on it.
  I'm grateful that I still have a table top computer. It's old fashioned I know, but I like having a keyboard where you have to press the keys down. The sound of the keys makes me feel like a real writer.
   I'm grateful for Scamp and Colby. I enjoy taking care of them and watching them. They teach me patience. They give me mostly unconditional love. They are beautiful.
   Most of all I'm grateful for C. I never planned on falling in love or getting married. He 's turned my life inside out and upside down. He has brought things to my life that I never thought I would have. He's taught me about forgiveness and being fearless and not worrying so much. I had a happy life before I met him. I have a much happier life with him in it.
   I hope all of you think about those things for which you are grateful. When you make a list of them, I hope your list is not loaded with stale  cheese.

Happy Thanksgiving

from

Sophie, C, Scamp and Colby