Gratitude

Happy 4th of July! I was having this little talk with my kids today about Independence day and what it's about. We talked about gratitude and all the blessings that we have and sometimes take for granted. We talked about our healthy bodies, free country, safe home, family that loves us, etc. It's always important to have those talks, to remind them of their blessings. Sometimes it's easier to have the talks then it is to walk the walk. . .

It's so easy to explain about the glass being 1/2 full and not 1/2 empty. I talked to them about how we should be grateful for what we have and not complain about what we don't have. It's a lot easier to talk about than it is to live. :-) We expect so much from our little kids and I realized this afternoon that it is much easier said than done. I realized this afternoon that I am guilty of not always having this attitude myself.

We get busy and irritated with the little (or big) things in life and sometimes it gets the better of us. Specifically, I feel like I do that with my husband. I can be so critical of him and expect so much, all the time. I know I am not always as encouraging and supportive as I could be. This afternoon a neighbor called to thank me for one of John's random acts of kindness and it reminded me of what a wonderful man I am married to. Our neighbor fell a few days ago while mowing his lawn. He was taken to the hospital to get checked out and ended up being there for a couple of days. Thankfully, he is home now and doing well, which is wonderful. He called a little while ago to express his gratitude to my husband for finishing the lawn mowing that he had started when he got hurt. He really appreciated it and wanted to thank us. John isn't home and I told him I'd relay the message. I hung up and thought about how often John performs these kind acts, usually unbeknownst to me or anyone else. It hadn't even crossed my mind to go moe w their lawn. But John went right out and did it first thing, without being asked or talking about it. He does these types of things all the time. He doesn't tell me he's going to do it. He doesn't tell people after he does it. I often don't know unless I find out in other ways. He doesn't do it to be praised. He just sees needs and tries to fill them with kind acts. I am grateful for his example of kindness and selfless service and I thought it was worthy of a post. I guess I should probably tell him too. So, I'll make a point to do that when he gets home. :-)