Thank You For The Orange Juice

In our day to day lives, sometimes it's hard to find something to be thankful for. We take for granted our good friends, family, and even our jobs, if we are so fortunate to have them. They are so much a part of our lives that, at times you forget how important they are to you. Still, with the ups and downs of life, we are supposed to find something everyday to be thankful for. With the lack of money, bad relationships, and unsure futures, life can seem almost hopeless.

I was having a particularly stressful time in my life where nothing seemed important. Not family or friends. I seemed to be going nowhere in my life, career-wise or relationship-wise, and my future seemed to me on permanent hold while I was still growing older. I wanted everything that I wanted NOW!

Not claiming to be a perfect Christian, I was, however struggling to do the right things spiritually and to have faith in God to take care of me. Part of some teaching tapes I had been listening to said to find something every day to be thankful for no matter how small it was. I thought; "Yeah, right...." and grumbled to myself each time I tried to come up with something. Nothing ever seemed to really hit the mark.

Oddly, this came into play. I have always loved orange juice, but until recently, because of it's high acid content, I couldn't drink it. It would give me terrible heartburn and urinary tract problems. One day, I saw a commercial for a new orange juice that was acid free and I bought some. It was wonderful and didn't hurt my stomach or kidneys at all.

A few mornings later, I was washing my hair, and as usual, grumbling to myself about what to come up with to be thankful about. All of a sudden I thought of the orange juice! It seemed silly at first to be thankful for such a small thing, but it was one thing that I really was thankful for. I laughed to myself and said out loud; "God, thank you for the orange juice!", and immediately I began to feel better. Life wasn't perfect, but in this imperfect world, I had found something simple to be thankful for.