A Grateful Prayer (In Spite of My Own Idiocy)

Dear God (and may I say that it's interesting now to call you that after a decade or so of trying out "Divine Being," "The Universe," and merely looking up to the heavens and shrugging? Who knows what/who you are, really.  May as well make it simpler on myself and just call you by your monosyllabic moniker, right?):


Thank you for keeping me safe, helping me to help others and for not taking it all too seriously.  I'm grateful that Raf was home to answer my call when my car stalled close to home and I had an SUV-load of groceries and perishables in the back, hoping to restock our abysmally empty fridge after a holiday weekend in Vegas (and I'm grateful also for his lucky streak at the craps tables, by the way; it makes a man feel good to win once in a while, even at a crazy game of chance).  


I'm grateful that I renewed my AAA membership again 18 months ago, for the peace of mind that it gives me when something like this happens.  I'm grateful that the tow truck driver was kind and didn't laugh when I said, "Oh, it might either be that I'm out of gas or my alternator exploded."  I'm grateful that Raf had come back after unloading the groceries and was able to take the tow truck man's gas can to the station - literally a half-block away - and get some gas for me.  


I'm grateful that the tow truck driver was so nice that when I said, "What should I be doing?" he said, "The best thing for you is to just sit in your car and relax.  We'll take care of this." In talking with him while we waited for Raf - he was recently laid off from a great job and now earns $8 an hour - I felt grateful for the security that we feel in our life.  As he spoke about a previous job as an EMT in Watts and Compton, I again felt enormously grateful for the quiet, safe neighborhood where my kids are growing up among the horses and trees.


I'm grateful that when Raf was returning and made an illegal U-turn in front of the lady police officer, I was only a quarter-block away from him as he waited for her to give him a ticket, and that she let him move his truck up so that I could fill my tank.  I'm grateful that she relented and didn't give him a full-on moving violation ticket, just an "unsafe maneuver" sort of a ticket so that it wasn't as expensive (as she explained, she wants the streets to be safer for all of us... and I'm grateful that she actually seemed to mean it).  


I'm grateful that, yes, it was only an empty gas tank and not an explosive alternator.  And even though the tow truck driver said, "Hey, and you're not even blonde," I'm grateful that I had the means (thank you, Vegas) to give him a healthy tip at the beginning of the holidays.


I'm grateful that I got to get back on the road in time to volunteer in Serena's class and then pick up my kids and their mom for another precious day because of all of this safety and security.  And I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to acknowledge it, once again.


Amen.