We Got Another One

"We got another one." - fellow runner named Bob Bennett in Rabun Gap, Georgia before our early morning run.

I remember back to a time when I knew an amazingly thankful person. His name was Bob. He was almost twice my age. It was down in hot, humid Rabin Gap, Georgia. Foxfire county. Although he is no longer running, Bob lives on in the character of lots of people, including me, because he was so incredibly, positively thankful.

We ran many, many early mornings together. When he would knock on my front door, I would be clumsily dressing in those snappy, black running tights exposing my thick thighs, a T-shirt from some random 5K outside of Peachtree City covering the thick thighs, my bright silver running shoes and a really crabby attitude. (Why do we have to get up at 5:45 AM to run in order to not get all out of shape and not get creaky and not get old..and on and on.)

I'd open the door, and there would be Bob, steaming cup of coffee in hand, big smile and he'd always greet me with, "We got another one." True. OK, that's true. I'd break out in a smile just because his enthusiasm, thankfulness and joy about having been given one more day was actually overpowering. Overpowering in a grace-filled, loving way. Dismissing my crabbiness. He was just plain thankful for another day, another morning, another run.

I started making coffee for myself, assuming his thankfulness was because of the caffeine. I'd have to get up even earlier for this addition, which actually was counter-productive in changing my attitude. OK, so it is not the coffee. I'm a Christian; I should just be thankful. Naturally.

So, when does overpowering thankfulness come within our own hearts? There are lots of small moments that do add up. However, I think my own experience with being genuinely, joyfully thankful deeply, crept into my heart, my character when a surgeon who had operated on my sweet daughter Virginia in hot, humid Durham, NC, said "benign". She got another day, another morning, another run.
Thanks, Bob, for preparing me to see it so profoundly.

I got another day to paint, and so I am off.
Sketch today....lightly because I want to do watercolor on this. Actually took a little while although it does not seem like it.