MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2021 GRATITUDE

 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2021 GRATITUDE

Hey all.  In the United States, this is Thanksgiving week. (My Canadian friends had their Thanksgiving on the Second Monday in October).

And, the obvious question is:  What are you Thankful for?

Let’s skip the option of “I’m thankful for my ‘things’”.  Things break, things overtime wear out, things lose their luster.  

So, gratitude (without talking about things).  How about “I’m grateful for my nice safe house?” The same discussion - houses can burn down and lose their luster over time. "My new car is so sweet" - the same thing!! (a friend got a new luxury car about six weeks ago, hasn't even made the first payment on it, and it got totaled five days ago!!!)

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I’m GRATEFUL FOR MY FAMILY

Okay - I’ll take that for a good point. (Okay, people are ‘things’ and people are breakable, grow old, and maybe lose their luster).  

But, families have lasting power - memories.  Do you remember the time that <scenario>?  

Maybe it was the trip my son and I took to the Black Hills for a weekend.  It was a long drive from Eastern South Dakota - about five hours - taken after I got off work at 5:00 pm from my summer job at Citibank.  We pitched our tent in the light of my car’s headlights.  We hiked and really didn’t do much, but we bonded.

Maybe it was that Thanksgiving day when the roads were impassable outside of town and we gathered with friends for an impromptu Thanksgiving.  Maybe it was the time our daughter won the state extemporaneous speaking contest. And, placed in the state debate tournament.

Maybe it was the camping trip with the whole family in the Black Hills.  (I’m remembering that I had to make a recruiting phone call from a payphone).  

Maybe it was the time we were so cold watching the Festival of Bands at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls. (Brrr)

Maybe it was the time we all were together in Tralee Ireland.

Memories do make for grateful times.

(Or, maybe it was the happy tears streaming down my face when I held my twin granddaughters at the same time - hey one in each arm).

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I'm GRATEFUL FOR MY FRIENDS

I have been blessed by some awesome friends. LOVE WINS!!

I’M GRATEFUL FOR MY BELIEFS

I do have a spiritual bent in my life.  But, I also realize my experiences are unique in that matter (and I don’t like to preach). (God's ways and not my ways - God is so infinite).

Matthew 6:19-21 says

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Maybe as I age and get closer to death, that spiritual thoughts are growing in my life.  

The last line of that verse says “where your treasure is, there your heart will be.’.  

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SO

So, yes, it is Thanksgiving week.  Where is my treasure?  Am I spending enough time on that treasure or am I spending more time on myself?  Am I “investing” in myself or putting my “investments” in a safe place?  

I like the adage “Love is spelled T I M E”.  This week, maybe “Thanksgiving and gratitude are spelled “T I M E”.  

I took a new part-time job. That facility is a 24/7/365 living community.  They need staff available to help their residents. Yet, before I started I told them, that I was having Thanksgiving with my sister in Arizona.  So, instead of helping these senior citizens (all of whom are in their 90s), I’m being selfish and visiting my sister (and two days of driving to visit her and my brother-in-law and two days of driving home).  Where is my treasure this week?  

It is with my family, and my friends, and my attitude/faith/belief.

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And, where are your gratitude and your treasures this week?  Is it in your new 86 inch Smart TV (on sale at Best Buy for $1,500)?  You could use that to connect to your family in faraway places, you could use that for bringing up your photos and videos of your time with your family.  

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An attitude of gratitude.  

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen