I entered the restaurant alone one evening and approached the abundant buffet with a full appetite but an empty soul. Many of my closest friends had left town on vacation or, in some cases, moved to another state. I felt a lack of support at the school where I was teaching. Another of my romances had just fizzled, and it had only been a few months since my Dad had joined my Mother in eternity. To top things off, it was a cold and drizzly day.
Suddenly, a wondrous series of questions and thoughts uplifted my mood. I began to wonder how many farmers it had taken to grow all the food that spread before me?
How many laborers did it take to harvest it? How many different trucks were involved in delivering it to the restaurant? How many mechanics had been involved in putting the delivery trucks together and keeping them running? How about the workers who had paved the roads for those trucks? How many taxpayers had it taken to finance the building of those roads? I knew that I could eat in confidence because of the army of scientists and inspectors who had made sure the food was disease free.
My heart started to warm as I silently thanked the architects who had designed this very attractive and safe building and the electricians who made it possible for power to flow into the lights, chilling refrigerators and heating stoves. As I sat down, I uttered a silent thank you to the carpenters who had designed the comfortable booth and the table that was sturdy and spacious.
Gratitude started to flow out of my heart to the...Continue
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