Don't take anything for granted

"Don't take anything for granted," the woman on the sidewalk said as I admired the cross in her hand.

She knew. This elderly woman, cleanly dressed, was wandering the streets of Fountain Square and trying to gather her courage to ask for a handout. Having no cash on hand, my husband went back to the car to get the leftovers of the anniversary dinner we had just celebrated.

"Don't take anything for granted."

A week later, my husband announced that after five years, he was going to cease attending church. He has yet to give a reason. The days of our family attending together, not to mention the example he is setting for the kids, changed in minutes.

"Don't take anything for granted."

A week ago, I get a cryptic email from my mother, who said she had a heart attack, drove to the emergency room and had surgery. By the grace of God, no one was hurt while she was driving, and she was released from the hospital last week.

"Don't take anything for granted."
It's so easy in this flurry of activities: the sports, work, the housework, family...that anything would upheave the patterns. But the reality is it can.

This morning, the local news shared of construction crews killed at work and a boy who had died after running in front of an ATV. In minutes, a person's life can change unexpectedly.

So this small word of warning, from a stranger on the street, is a grave reminder to take each moment for the blessing it is.