Thankfulness Prompted by Using a Frost-Free Hydrant

                Have you ever looked at an object only to have a name or a face come into your mind? This happens to me almost every day.

                Each morning, I turn on the hydrant nearest the house for fresh water for our cats. Sometimes I remember the cold winter day a couple of years ago when I flipped up the faucet only to have no water come out. I walked to the old north chicken yard and ran water from the hydrant installed by my cousin, Tim, for Dad several years earlier. After several bitterly cold mornings, I decided I needed to lobby for a new one near the house to replace the old, worn-out one.

                Mother readily agreed we should replace it, so I called Jim Hutchison, our plumber. Soon Jim and his plumbing apprentice, Shawn Brandenburg, arrived and replaced the old hydrant with a new one that worked just fine.

The Hydrant That Causes
Thankfulness

                So many mornings, I have been thankful for how promptly Jim responded to a call from Mother or me. He would turn his schedule on its head to accommodate Mother. Mother had been the Sunday School teacher for his sister, Nelda, when they lived in the Masham community in the late 1950s. Then his mother, Mrs. Wilson, enjoyed Mother’s adult women’s class at the Ralston church.

                For several years, we worshipped with Jim and Diana, his wife, in our congregation at Ralston. Jim exuded a pleasant countenance and a willing spirit. Jim valued prayer and almost every time we spoke, he gave an update on prayer requests for which we were praying.

                Jim never operated in a frenzied pace. He seemed to deescalate a difficult situation, even a ticklish plumbing issue. I recall on a church workday that Jim chose to do a tedious carpet cleaning task that many avoided. 

Jim's Photograph from his
funeral service folio. Mother
comments frequently, "I liked
Jim."

                His death was so shocking to his children, his family, his employees, and our congregation. Diana, his wife, while in the throes of grief, received a call from his oncologist. He told her that Jim would have faced intense, excruciating pain had he lived the few months that were speculated he may have been able to survive. Diana responded, “So you are saying his sudden death was a blessing.” To which the doctor replied, “No, it was the grace of God.”

                As Diana walks this road of grief, she trusts the Lord, finds daily comfort in His word, and continues to serve the Lord in our congregation. She can attest that God gives "grace to trust Him more."
                This month of Thanksgiving will provide us opportunities each day to spy an object that reminds us of a person who blessed our lives. It may be a person still living who has expressed kindness in small or large ways to us. Express your thanks to that person. Don’t shrug off or ignore reminders of those who blessed our lives but are deceased. Let their family members know how their loved one impacted your life. What a comfort that can provide to them on their journey of sorrow!

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. Proverbs 10:7

                Finally, let's give God thanks not just during this month, but every day of the year, for those people who have enriched our lives. The act of expressing thanks to the Lord will lift us up as we go through our days.