He Taught Me Gratitude

Dear Friends,

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope wherever you are, you are celebrating well. But I realize that holidays can come with a mixture of emotions, so I hope you find this note encouraging no matter your circumstances.

Thanksgiving can be a hard day in my family. It was right around this time of year (nine years ago tomorrow) that my family lost its rock, my loving and amazing grandfather. Our thankfulness has been bittersweet ever since.

I imagine that some of you have your own troubles around this time of year. Perhaps there is division among your family, either by geography or by politics. Some of you may be grieving losses of loved ones, jobs, or ways of life. I don't know what battles you are facing today, but I have a message for you.

This Thanksgiving is different for me. This summer, I had a client who changed the way I view gratitude, and my thanksgivings can never be the same.

I'll call him Sam, a name I made up for his protection. Sam is a 62 year-old man who needed my help. He was diagnosed with stage four bladder cancer. This is considered a "compassionate allowance" by the government, meaning that the odds were highly against Sam winning his battle. On top of all this, Sam was homeless, jobless, and moneyless.

Still, Sam was the most grateful man I've ever met. Every kind word, idea, or laugh I could share with him was welcomed with more compassion than I've ever known. He wanted nothing more than to not be a burden to others and to live in a way that cared for the people he loved.

Sam taught me that having a home and having strength are not the same thing. He had more strength than any mansion owner in the world. Sam taught me to be grateful for every moment of life, whether in pain or in peace, in  poverty or in prosperity, in a cold car or in a warm home.

There are a lot of reasons not to be thankful today. I am personally in great amounts of pain from recent medical procedures. But with the Sams of this world, how can we not be beyond grateful for the many things we do have?!

Look around you. Choose gratitude. Choosing gratitude means choosing hope, because you are choosing a peaceful acceptance of the blessings you have within your reach.

I want to leave you with one of my favorite songs. It's my prayer this and every Thanksgiving. May you choose gratitude and hope today and every day.

“Gratitude”

By: Nichole Nordeman

Send some rain, would You send some rain?

'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again

And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid

But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time

Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight

Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

With Thanks,
Sara