Stop! And Count Your Blessings!

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November is nearly over! Where has the year gone?  It seems as though life is flying by at an alarmingly fast rate!  With so many distractions in our daily lives it is often hard to stop and be thankful for the many wonderful things we have in our lives.  So let’s STOP! And Count Your Blessings!

Throughout this year we have seen not only smaller disappointments and heartaches, but much bigger things like jobs lost, illness set it, and deaths occurring.  It is in these very moments when we usually pause and realize that whatever we are struggling with isn’t so bad and to be grateful for all that we do have.

Over and over we see and experience stories of people who face great adversity with gusto and overall strength.  These people inspire us to breath deeper, slow down more, and to stop and smell the roses!  But also in these moments I struggle with a bit of guilt.  I feel bad for not living my life this way in each and every moment  and for not appreciating every little thing all day – every day.

What I have come to realize is that I need to free myself of this guilt.  It is all too easy to get wrapped up in the daily grind of kids fighting, dirty dishes, taxi service, and more! You know what?  That is normal and natural.  Yes, we should all strive to keep perspective on a daily basis, but to wallow in guilt if we don’t is counterproductive.

Four years ago I jumped on a Facebook bandwagon of people posting a daily status for something they were thankful for.   The challenge was to post a new/different “Thankful” each day of the month in honor of Thanksgiving. The year after that I started doing something called, “Thanksgiving Thankfuls“ on my blog as a way for me to chronicle the blessings in my life and for others to join me.  Last year instead of posting multiple posts either daily, weekly, or just when I got around to it, I decided to post the entire month’s worth of Thanksgiving Thankfuls all together.

Despite the feeling that it may be a little “band wagonish” and cliche’ to do this during the month of November, I have continued doing it and will again do it this year.  Why? Because no matter the timing, it is good to stop and reflect on the many good things in our lives.  Sometimes it might just be a simple thing that stemmed from your day, and sometimes it might be much deeper, like the loving, supportive, faithful husband that comes home to you every day.

As I went back through some of my entries over the years I found a couple of favorites I thought I would share:

“Every morning as I lie awake in bed, I hear the drawers slamming in Jayden’s room as he gets dressed.  I hear the clunk of Chloe’s door popping open as she heads to the bathroom.   Then I hear the rhythm of little feet on the floor, the pause, the slight whimper at the sight of the high jump, and then the soft thump as Muffin lands on my bed.  She is our 8 year old toy poodle.  Only the best dog ever!  So good that we often take her for granted.  She has been particularly good about the addition of our new puppy, Oscar, as well.  So today, as I am thinking of a picture I just took of her sitting up all poised as we carved our pumpkins on Friday, I am thankful for Muffin.”

“Yesterday I received a phone call from a parent of one of Chloe’s friends. Of course, my first reaction is panic, “What has my child done?” It turns out this parent was calling to tell me how much she appreciates Chloe and the good friend she has been to her child. 🙂 This parent went on to say, “You must be doing something right because she has a good head on her shoulders.” As much as I would like to take all the credit, I know that much of it needs to go to Chloe. She is genuinely good at heart. She wants people to be happy and to feel good about themselves. She has sacrificed her own boundaries more than once to ensure the other person’s feelings were not hurt. (Something we are working to correct because everyone needs to draw a line somewhere!) Needless to say, today I am thankful for Chloe and the loving, caring person she is growing up to be.”

So as you walk through your life either on a daily basis or at time when you are stopped in your tracks, take time to be thankful for the things you have. Remember that without the struggles in life, you might not appreciate the many wonderful things you do have.

A few quotes pertaining to being thankful:

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

It is not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy.

Don’t think of things you didn’t get after praying; think of the countless blessings God gave you without asking.

No matter how good or bad you think your life is, wake up each day and be thankful. Someone somewhere else is fighting to survive.

So no matter what your situation is today, remember to be thankful and to stop and count your blessings! What are you thankful for? Please take a moment to let us know!