While I was a student at seminary in Atlanta, I served a student appointment at Tuskegee First UMC which meant I served the church on weekends and attended school during the week. This also meant that we kept up two homes, one in Atlanta and the parsonage in Tuskegee. The parsonage in Tuskegee was a huge old antebellum home with 14-foot ceilings, wooden floors throughout, and it was built on brick pilings. It was impossible to cool during the summer and impossible to heat in the winter. When we had extremely cold weather our pipes would freeze because they were exposed under the house. We tried leaving the faucets dripping and draining the pipes, but they still froze. It would take weeks to get hot water restored throughout the house. They would hook up the hot water to a sink next to the hot water heater, and we had to carry it wherever we needed it. It took a while to fill the tub for a hot bath. I never realized how good a hot shower or hot water for a shave felt until it was gone. I realize that’s the way we are with a lot of things in our life. We never seem to realize all the good gifts God has bestowed upon us until they are gone. May we learn to count our blessings every day, and give God thanks for all His goodness toward us.
– Dr. Neil Epler