A Facebook post helped me discover the secret of gratitude
by Lucy Luginbill / © 2019, Tri-City Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Do you ever find yourself challenged to see the blessings in life?
Sometimes, what I call “First-World” problems can send a great day south. It can happen when our internet connection is [slower] than a nanosecond or the barista steams our latte lukewarm, all trivial to be sure.
But it’s easy to let those minor irritations start to fill our glass with a “half-empty” attitude when we could be filled to the brim with thankfulness. Instead of counting our blessings, we’re focused on what doesn’t go perfectly.
‘A journey of thankfulness’
Fortunately, and quite by accident, I may have found a cure for this malady, one that seems to be infectious.
My discovery took place a few years back, just before the Thanksgiving holiday. At the time, I was perusing Facebook where I noticed the remedy on my daughter Traci’s page. She had just accepted a friend’s challenge to go on a journey of thankfulness, counting a blessing each day until Thanksgiving.
Her first two posts were typical: grateful for a hard-working husband; blessed to have caring parents. Both items [are] easily taken for granted in day-to-day living. But it was her third post that made my heart stop and my head bow in thankfulness.
Day 3 of thankfulness: “I’m thankful my hubby didn’t run over daughter Hailey and me this morning!”
Traci went on to explain that she had knelt at the bottom of their steep driveway to tie my young granddaughter’s shoe. Her husband, Eddie, thinking that everyone was on their walk to school, backed out of the garage in their quiet Toyota Prius. [They were] out of sight in his rear-view and side mirrors, [and] Traci never heard him coming. Then, within only inches of the two kneeling figures, Eddie caught a glimpse of bright pink, his wife’s sweatshirt, when she shifted her position.
...
Visit Tri-City Herald online.
