It’s hard to believe that the last time I wrote for this blog was almost a month ago! Time moves so quickly…especially with a little one walking. I’ve now been practicing thankfulness for almost a month. I was inspired by the book One Thousand Gifts, as I wrote in the last post. I’ve been writing down things I am thankful for each day…and I’ve been especially looking for joy in the small things. I’d say practicing thankfulness has definitely made me more joyful. Not that I wasn’t happy or filled with joy before…it is like extra joy.
Before, I would have just let so many moments pass by unnoticed. For example, #17: the sound of dinner sizzling in the pan, or #31: Candle flames dancing in the sanctuary at church, or #118: sunlight so bright it hurts my eyes. Stopping to be thankful for the joy these things bring really does make a difference. Sometimes it makes me feel almost giddy.
Then there’s the hard thankfulness. I’ve found that practicing thankfulness has helped my overall attitude as well. One night I was woken in the middle of the night be my son crying. I was grumbling to myself and feeling sorry for myself. Who really wants to get out of bed in the middle of the night? But as I was holding and rocking my son, and felt his breathing slow, and the soft wispy curls of his hair against my neck, I reminded myself to practice being thankful. I started with being thankful for the curly wisps and the steady heartbeat and the soft skin. But then #132 came along: Comforting my son in the middle of the night. My whole perspective changed when I became thankful for the hard, unpleasant middle of the night moment. I had a stolen hug. A stolen moment to be with my son. How many of those will I get? Pretty soon I’ll be thinking that there are far too few. I truly felt thankful and joyful at being able to comfort my son. It helped me turn a negative moment into a positive one.
I’m far from 1000 gifts, and I slowed down at writing them in my notebook over the week surrounding Christmas, but now I’m back at it. Here are a few of my favorites so far:
#53: The sting of fresh air on my cheek
#78: Singing “Old McDonald”
#96: Toes touching under the covers
#127: Tears of gratitude in an old man’s eyes
#133: Bright colors
#137: The softness of flower petals
#142: His smile
Dear Kimberly,
I sure enjoyed what you shared about writing down the things you are thankful for each day. I have also done something similar and it sure gave me a fresh perspective on life and all the everyday things that happen that I take for granted. I also want to say that those middle of the night moments with your son are the times you will miss the most. Now that my babies are grown what I miss most is being able to pick them up and hold them in my arms and kiss their little heads and whisper “I love you” in their little ears. There are wonderful blessings with them now, but it’s those moments with them when they were little that I miss the most.
Thanks again for sharing!
Sandy