Applying "Help. Thanks. Wow." to Your Life

By Bobbe White

I asked a friend to recommend a book that had been helpful to her during a tough time as I needed an idea for a struggling friend. She cited Anne Lamott’s bestseller, “Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers.” The ironic thing is that I had given it to her in 2012!

I like this book. So much so, that I reread it this weekend.

It’s a brief book and full of ideas on ways to offload problems that are bugging us (HELP!). She shows the benefits of being grateful for seemingly insignificant things (THANKS!) and to acknowledge amazing occurrences (WOW!) I decided to practice below.

Here goes...

HELP! Our refrigerator died. Conked out. Just. Like. That. I moved salvageable food to our basement freezer, gathered coolers, and made multiple trips for bags of ice.

THANKS. We appreciate our new dorm-sized fridge. Jeff argues, “It’s not dorm-sized. It’s 5 feet tall with a freezer compartment.” Okay, so it’s graduate school size. I’ve named her, “Short Stuff.” She’s more efficient than coolers, even as the freezer door pops open when you shut the refrigerator door. Kind of like the Beverly Hillbillies: the phone rings; they answer the doorbell.

WOW! It’s amazing how cold Short Stuff keeps the contents. Or “wow”, is that garage hot or what?” And, “wow,” think of all the weight we’ll lose, because it’s too hot in the garage to fetch food or treats that we don’t need anyway.

THANKS for this opportunity! But, HELP! The reverse is happening. I’m consuming more than ever. It’s easier to just eat the rest of something than going out to the hot garage. Sigh.

HELP! Our new fridge was ordered June 1. It’s slow, due to parts being from China. You know why.

THANKS! Store tells us our new fridge landed in St. Louis. (That’s two hours south for east and west coasters readers! In other words, it’s getting closer!)

WOW! Installation is in two days. It’s a pretty big deal as you can imagine.

Here’s another example...

HELP! Last Monday, after work, the house felt warm. The thermostat read 27 degrees Celsius. “Hey Siri! Convert 27 Celsius to Fahrenheit.” Siri says, “That would be 80 degrees Fahrenheit.” Great, Oh hell, I mean, oh HELP! It’s going to be a long night.

THANKS to our fans sleeping was fairly comfortable. Also, THANKS to Jeff who got Wayne, an air conditioning repairman, to come the next day. We’ll be really thankful if it simply needs a charge and some freon.

HELP! The A.C. is kaput. We need a new unit. But “WOW!” Wayne can install the new unit in a few days for $3,000. So, that’s what that stimulus check was for. THANKS Congress!

Also, THANKS Jeff for installing an A.C. window unit in the bedroom. Sleep, glorious sleep!

HELP! The installer had heart palpitations. He’s having tests on installation day. Install tabled for now. 

But, hey God, seriously, THANKS for the cool front! At 64 degrees this morning on our deck, I was thankful for my sweatshirt.

Have you gotten the gist using The Three Essential Prayers? Anyway, it’s Sunday, a day of prayer for many people, so a logical day to experiment with Help, Thanks, Wow. There are many things to pray “HELP!” for: our country, racial unrest, the economy, health, students, teachers, parents, and healthcare workers –– basically anything COVID related –– which seems to be everything lately doesn’t it?

There are many things to say, “THANKS!” for. It’s okay if you have to get creative. Like our one cucumber plant, that now spans a 10’ x 4’ foot garden plot.

HELP! Cukes have overtaken the garden. Still, “THANKS!” A garden of any vegetable is a good thing. And WOW! There are so many of them. Also, there are myriad ways to pray and personally, I’m thankful for an additional, non-traditional, logical way.
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THANKS for reading my post. Now, this is your cue to yell, “HELP!” if needed, say, “THANKS,” when you can and amaze yourself with WOW-worthy things!

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