I don’t want to sound ungrateful. . .

. . . truly, I don’t.  And I fear that the worrying, fretting, and talking I’ve been doing about my “sitting” might be heard as ungratefulness.  Blech.  That’s such an ugly word and the last message I want to send.

I am thankful.  Really, really thankful for all that makes up this beautiful life.  I have a tendency, at times, to let perspective escape me and only see that which I can’t do or that which I wish I could do.

So it is in the spirit of thankfulness that I refocus my eyes on those things that fill my heart to over-flowing with gratefulness. . .

1.  I’m thankful for the song that is playing right now.  If you can’t hear it or listen to it. . . it’s What Child Is This? by Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige.  Every time I hear it, I get chills.  The mix of their voices wows me and pulls me into the spirit of what this season is all about.

2.  For this family that visits us every winter. . .

We have watched this little family grow each year.  I take such delight in watching them roam and play in our backyard.  They come right up to the house and like a kid on Christmas morning, I squeal each time.  I see this as nothing short of a miracle. 

3.  For this guy. . .

The guy they call Dad and I call Chad.  A man who is as gentle as he is strong and as patient as he is kind.  A man who has walked beside me through a year that has been less than perfect and allowed me to feel what I feel without judgment.  A man who has covered for me without one complaint throughout the time I’ve been laid up.  A man who listens to my dreams and says “what can I do?”  A man that I certainly do not deserve, but am so thankful to call my very best friend.

4.  For this little guy. . .

and the friend he invited. . .

This couple has visited me no less than once a day since I’ve been confined in the seated position.  It’s as if they’ve been assigned to check in on me each day.  They flutter in together and sit for a bit and then fly away.  We have no bird feeders around our house and we’ve never seen them before.  I marvel at this and am reminded of the beauty that exists all around me. 

5.  For a sister who called to inform me that I don’t need to do anything for our Christmas gathering.  Who insisted, “you always do everything and this year you can’t. . . let me do it.”  I’m thankful that she knew to insist and not ask. . . she just did it. . . which helps my prideful self. 

6.  Helpers like these. . .

My in-laws have taken the kids day after day, knowing that I am limited in my ability to care for them.  Again, without my asking, they just picked up and did what they could do to help us out. . . no matter the cost to their lives.  There are not words for this kind of selflessness. . .

7.  For the fearlessness in a child’s creativity

Watching them create without limits takes me into a world where anything is possible.  Oh, you want to make a basketball hoop?  A ring?  A rainbow?  A spaceship?  A princess?  A lollipop?  There are no limits to what they believe they can do. . .

. . . and there are no limits to what I believe they can do.  May we never lose that.

It’s a funny thing. . . gratefulness, that is.  When my eyes open up and see all that is around me, life’s hurdles don’t seem so challenging anymore.  They are just that. . . hurdles.  Nothing more and nothing less. 

Believe me, I could go on forever with this thankfulness. . . but I’ll save that for another day.  Because if I know myself, I will need another day to adjust my lens to see clearly all the beauty around me.  But for today, I see it.  I see it clearly. . .

This life. . . it is beautiful. 

If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator.
W. Beran Wolfe