MY FIRST REACTION?

A couple of angry words and a comment something like “of course it’s broken - it’s 2020.”

An expensive new water heater in the month of December?

BAH HUMBUG

Then I felt a shift. A quiet thought that created a very different focus.

•

How many won’t have hot water because they’ve lost their jobs due to the pandemic?

Or lost their homes?

How many can’t climb into a hot bubble bath tonight because they’re lying in a hospital bed struggling to take their next breath?

•

This year my favorite Christmas gift won’t be wrapped under the tree. It’ll be in a dusty closet on the east side of the house.

MY SECOND REACTION?

Humility.

Gratitude.

And a touch of Christmas cheer