Saturday morning grateful

I'm cleaning house this morning.  Nothing to be grateful for, except that we are guests here and it feels good to be able to contribute.  It may take a while before we are able to get a place of our own.  Our housemate, Hank is so generous.  We pay him for electricity and gas and it seems what we pay him comes back to us 10 fold in friendship and other things as well.  Ever since we have known him, he has collected $1 bills for us to use as we see fit.  He still does that.  We end up spending a lot of that on the ministry, 

I wash Hank's clothes along with ours and try to keep the kitchen spotless.  It's not much, but it's something.  We are scrubbing now to get ready to put up Christmas decorations.  Hank brought down an unbelievable amount from the attic.  Probably can't use it all, but it's fun looking through it.

What I can't manage, Robert and Andrea do.  They are so precious to me.  Andrea is better about chores than cleaning her room, but she's learning.  Robert does all the heavy stuff for me.  When he first got here, this house was an unbvelievable mess.  He started to clean right away and worked the entire two months to get it ready for us.  The room we sleep in was packed to the ceiling with donations of clothes and "stuff" for Mexico.  Rob was tireless.  Hank's friends came over and thought they were in the wrong house.  Now Hank is getting used to it.  I wonder what will happen when we leave.

Gratitude comes in many forms.  There's the big stuff:  life, family, kids, etc.  But there's also the little stuff that touches the deepest part of the soul.  A smile when I don't feel up to par will break the cloud from my countenance.  A quick note from a friend will do the same.  I may well take the beg stuff for granted.  I am eternally grateful for a loving Father and all the little stuff that comes my way to remind me just how grateful I am.