Many of us have heard an English proverb “every cloud has a silver lining.” It carries the meaning that even in less fortunate circumstances, a hidden good is present. It always seemed platitudinous to me. That is until I received a spiritual development workshop assignment to create a 21-day-intent focusing on gratitude. Our instructor provided the following guideline, “For the next 21 days, in ALL things be grateful.” I could tell by her tone of voice that insouciance was not an appropriate attitude for this assignment. That’s an understatement!

Throughout the 21 days, a cornucopia of clouds with silver linings provided opportunities to embrace “in ALL things be grateful.” I also discovered the Universe has an uncanny ability to provide “learning opportunities” at the most inconvenient times. This is a story of learning gratitude the “commode” way.

The semi-annual High Point International Furniture Market is an extremely hectic time in our household. During Market, our home becomes a four bedroom, four bath home-away-from-home for visiting Market guests. Prior to our guests’ arrival, there’s always a thorough cleaning, the kind where every vent, baseboard, ceiling fan, and window is washed and receives white glove inspection. Every upholstered piece of furniture and all the carpets are cleaned. Fresh flowers are potted at the entrance—mums in the fall, geraniums in the spring. And amidst this hubbub, the first “gratitude learning opportunity” showed its pretty face.

Two days before our furniture market guests were scheduled to arrive, I noticed a small puddle of water on the floor when I pulled my car into the garage. I didn’t pay any attention as it was raining and my car was wet. Twenty-four hours later, the puddle was larger although my car was dry. An upward glance at the ceiling sent a sickening wave of dread through my body. Water was dripping steadily through the ceiling and a large area of plasterboard looked like it was ready to cave in. I guarantee that my first thought was not “Oh yea, a gratitude learning opportunity.”

An SOS call went out to our plumber. A broken seal in one of the upstairs commodes created the garage ceiling catastrophe. We were informed that the leak was not new and a major portion of the garage ceiling needed to be replaced. I had a hard time seeing the silver lining in this cloud, yet it was there. The leak happened while we were home and could handle the emergency prior to our guests’ arrival. They were not inconvenienced. And, the gaping hole was in the garage ceiling. It didn’t have to have to be fixed before our guests arrived.

The Universe must have decided I needed a graduate level course in gratitude. I got another “commode test” two weeks after the plumber fixed the slow leak in the bathroom above the garage.

This time, we were just getting back into our house after our furniture market guests departed. I was preparing to leave for a weeklong business trip the next morning. While in the lower level office unloading briefcases, downloading e-mails, and preparing handout materials, my concentration was interrupted by something that sounded like water dripping onto the carpet. And it was. A leak in the powder room commode was causing water to drip through the ceiling onto the berber carpet. What could be the silver lining in this situation? Our furniture market guests were gone, we were home and I had time to call the plumber before I left on my business trip. Oh, and one more blessing, the garage and office ceilings can be repaired at the same time!

As I continue to embrace “in ALL things be grateful,” I am reminded of another saying, “be careful what you ask for; you just may get it.”

Happy Thanksgiving!