here, planet earth

A few nights ago, my mom and I were at the post office.  As usual, the line was long-ish and there was only ONE GUY on the cash register.  We weren't in any hurry though; dad was waiting in the car and we were making our way to a chamber strings concert at a local university.

As we stood in line for about 10 minutes, I watched the man behind the counter efficiently get us through the line.  He stood perhaps 5'7", middle-aged with glasses, white buzz cut for hair, and as we got closer, I noticed a bit of a lazy eye.  He greeted every customer with a nod of the head and seemed to be well-practiced at his job.

It was our turn.

Mom gave him the mail, and as he began to process the envelopes, I debated whether or not to make small talk with the guy.  I knew that all the people in line behind us would be observing our transaction as carefully as I had watched the ones before us, and it occurred to me that if I said something encouraging to him, perhaps it would inspire someone else to reach beyond themselves, too.

"Are you having a great day?" I decided to ask.

"I am!  I'm just glad to be here, " he answered, carefully sticking a bar code to an envelope.

"That's great.  I guess we all should have that attitude, huh?"

He smiled at this, then continued.  "I was out of work for 7 months this year.  I had liver cancer.  But they cut it outta me and I'm all better now.  So like I said, I'm just glad to be here."

This time, the phrase had different meaning.  By "here" he didn't just mean at his so-so job; he meant here, on planet earth.  He was thankful to be alive.

Are you thankful to be alive?  Your life might be great, or it might not be anything you want it to be.  You might be depressed or discouraged, or you might be living the dream.  Whatever your place in the world, let's just remember to thank God for the breath in our lungs because it means we still have a reason to be here.