Fans

Daily Gratitude Year 5- Day 124: Today, I am grateful for fans.

This is the season of in betweens. We are between chilly and hot. We are hours away from what feels like a season change at any minute. Our temperatures  fluctuate fast. A fan is an easy solution. 

When it is too early to turn on the air conditioning, but we are feeling a little too warm, a fan solves the problem. They cool us down quickly.They help us dry wet spots when sump pumps fail. They bring freshness to stale air. They cool us down.  They are a humble workhorse providing comfort when the weather can't make up it's mind.  

Ceiling fans are always practical. They are considered more fashionable in some decades than others, but it is one of those times that people will most often choose function over fashion... practical over pretty or popular. 

Fans, once made out of palm leaves and grasses are now metal with motors. I have vague memories of handheld "church fans" from the little Clifton church my dad grew up attending and Grandpa attended for all of his married life. They were in the pews and available of needed. They had printed images or advertisements. They were basically a heavy cardstock on a popsicle stick used to fan yourself or the person next to you.

My sister, April, loved collecting folding fans. Her favorites had an Asian flair. Some had images of girls in kimonos and others were covered in flowers or characters in a language none of us could read. Mom preferred the lacey version of Southern belles. My favorite was a thin wooden on with a cedar scent. 

I associate a fan with increased comfort. Some sleep to the hum of a fan, even in the dead of winter. Yes, an electric blanket and a fan are not an unheard of combination. 

I guess today will be simple. The one scripture that comes to mind is a reminder to use what power we are given, by open access to our Lord through prayer and his Spirit. 

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." 2 Timothy 1:6

Fanning a flame brings it to life, and keeps it from dying out. Are we fanning to flame the gifts he has granted us? 

Short and simple.

Today, I am grateful for fans.