Special Effects

I thought it would get easier, actually.  I must be doing it wrong.  Either I'm trying too hard or not hard enough.  This Thankful life hasn't made any demonstrable changes in my life so far, beyond being sleepy from blogging late at night.

Thank you for that comfy bed waiting for me at this moment.

There have been some little bright spots.  There was a ninja hug that snuck up behind me yesterday morning at church [that was Freddie Lu of "You've Got Potential" fame].  Thank yous for thank yous [this is not a real sentence but it makes sense if you've been writing thank you notes and people have been saying thank you for those notes].  There have been occasional comments on a blog post that reassures me this thing is working [hello? hello? is this thing on?].  No brilliant epiphanies, however.  Oh HELP, is this only February?

Thank you for more time and the potential for great life-changing awakenings.

Maybe I should be looking more closely.  Some truly important things are really very small.  So small we can't see them.  The day I gave Bryan his thank you note, I learned later, he was in the midst of helping a cousin in trouble.  On the day Joan opened her note, she had been worrying about her daughter.  Some kind words in a 3 x 5 inch space can't make a friend's troubles disappear.  But knowing their efforts are appreciated may help them take heart and carry on.

Thank you for important timing.

Then there was this.  Someone who has always been polite and professional, kind yet reserved became suddenly effusive.  She thanked me and hugged me and engaged me in a long, enthusiastic conversation.  It was warm and fuzzy.  [Okay, this is happening.]

Thank you for unexpected outpourings of joy.

Well, I just realized that in my effort to say thank you and to be mindful of all the things and people I should be thankful for, I was not paying attention to the effect it was having all around me.  The great life-altering epiphanies may come in small doses.

Thank you, God, for subtle changes in small doses.