I love Thanksgiving and cannot wait to spend time with our family. I’m especially grateful during this month of November for the opportunity to speak to a variety of audiences from stock show families to the women in my church. Every time I’m invited to share a little perspective with others, I’m challenged to gain more of my own.
As I searched for what I would say at an event last week, I realized I learned a lot about thanksgiving, or the expression of gratitude, from my mother-in-law Jane as she battled cancer years ago.
It was a brutal fight. I was young and remember learning the hard lesson that sometimes you can’t fix things, even though you desperately want to.
I’ll admit my husband and I often felt worried during those years, but Jane always had this peace about her. Even when so many of her days were filled with pain, she modeled thanksgiving, expressing gratitude for the good she could find in every situation.
She made us laugh, focused on helping others and kept herself busy finding ways to make sure we all knew how much she loved us. She taught me at an early age that gratitude is something we need to practice. And in all things, we can choose to find something to be grateful for.
Instead of focusing on how her life was changing, she focused on the gift of each day. She made our moments together count, teaching me about creating memories so I would have my own stories to share with my children someday.
I loved helping her prepare food for Thanksgiving while soaking in stories about my soon-to-be husband’s childhood. According to her, Dan was pretty near perfect. It always made me laugh to hear how ornery he could be, yet his smile got him out of trouble with her almost every time.
Now that I am a mother, I think of her every time our son Hunter makes me laugh at the most inopportune times while I’m trying to discipline him. It must run in the family!
Our memories are a gift that I am so thankful for during this time to pause and reflect. May this holiday be one where you can practice thanksgiving and find joy in all you do have.
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