An elderly grandmother was visiting her newly-married granddaughter.  As they prepared a meal together in the kitchen, the grandmother was amazed at all the technology imbedded in the appliances. She stopped for a moment and asked the granddaughter, “What’s the most valuable thing to you in this kitchen?  What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without?”  The young girl paused for a moment and said, “I don’t know, I guess the microwave; what about you?” Without hesitation the grandmother replied, “The running water.”

     Most of us are like the young girl, we take for granted those basic, every-day provisions of God.  Running water, central heat and air, electricity, indoor plumbing, the comfort of a bed: these are things we expect to have in our lives.  But the truth is, many people in the world live without some of those luxuries we take for granted.  If they were taken away, we would immediately become inconvenienced, and disgruntled.

     George Herbert said, “Thou who has given so much to me, give me one more thing: a grateful heart.”  If you are blessed to have a microwave, odds are, you have running water as well.  Don’t forget to thank God for both!