Thankful

Yesterday I spent a great part of the day finishing my ten page research paper that was due today (I did finish it, by the way).  Once I got to the halfway mark, I wanted to reward myself with something bad, so Josh walked with me to the convenience store up the street so I could buy a Mountain Dew.  Something interesting happened while we were there, there was a man in front of us in line (that wasn't interesting, stay tuned, it's coming).  He had his ID and passport out and was talking to the gas station employee.  At first, we didn't realize what was happening, but as things progressed the situation came to light.  The man was giving up his passport as collateral because he didn't have the money to buy gas.  He was asking for $5 in gas, which he would pay back the next day when he could get the money.  The gas station associate agreed to the terms and the man graciously left to go pump his less than two gallons of gas.  I've never experienced this type of situation before, nor have I ever been in a situation where I am unable to purchase basic necessities.  After leaving the gas station with my $1.71 Mountain Dew, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratefulness for the things I have.  Sometimes I'm discouraged by the little bit of savings I have or how little my paycheck may be, but I am thankful that I can manage to buy groceries, gas, a few meals at cheap restaurants, and am still able to put a little bit of money in savings.  I am very thankful.