LITMIR.BIZ

      Of all the things Paige loved about the little cabin, the view of the sunrise was her favorite. She stepped outside the back door onto the small stone patio to watch, like she did every morning. The autumn chill seeped through her blue flannel pajamas, and she wrapped her arms around herself. The sun wasn’t quite up yet, but almost, and the pond reflected the gold of the horizon. Above the dark silhouettes of the trees, still hanging onto their leaves for now, small pink and purple clouds flocked the brightening blue sky.

      The cabin, at the end of a dead-end street far to the west of Denver, had mountain views to both the east and the west. It was a forty-minute drive, sometimes more, to the downtown elementary school where Paige taught, but in the morning quiet, she felt like she was a million miles away.

      She took in a deep breath, let it out, and began her usual morning ritual.

      “I’m thankful for this day,” she said aloud and closed her eyes. “I’m thankful for my mom and dad.” They were usually right at the top of her list. “I’m thankful for my job, and for the kids.” She gave a wry smile. A couple of the children in her first-grade class gave her some trouble, but she’d been teaching long enough now to expect that. “And for my health. And for this beautiful world, and this beautiful season.” She’d always loved fall.

      “I’m thankful my car is fixed.” Her yellow VW bug had several years and a lot of miles on it, and she’d just gotten it back from the shop. She hadn’t planned on that expense, but at least it was running fine again. “I’m thankful for my creative inspiration. And I’m thankful for this wonderful home.”

      Sometimes, she also expressed gratitude for good things that hadn’t happened yet, but she thought—or at least hoped—would come into her life. She’d read in a book once that having faith like that would actually lead to good things happening. So she added, “I’m thankful someone is about to publish my children’s stories.”

      She tried to believe this. After eleven rejections, it wasn’t easy. But staying positive had worked for her before. A couple of years ago, she’d been living in an awful apartment, and she’d envisioned having a cute little house of her own. At the time, she’d expected that such a thing could only happen far in the future…and then almost immediately, she’d found this two-bedroom cabin for rent, at a price she could actually afford. Her parents had believed it was an answered prayer.

      She

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