Well, one thing I should have known was that I would not be able to keep up with this blog weekly. Once Thanksgiving hit, everything with our family went into overdrive, and I haven’t had any time to reflect on my life much. I have a little time now before things get a little too busy again, so here we go…
Scripture reference for the week:
1 Chronicles 16:34-36
David’s psalm of thanks says,
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise.” Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”
Now one thing that I am very proud of is that I have two boys that 90% of the time say “thank you,” without being prompted. My three year old says it, and my 18 month old has been signing it for months (I’m a huge advocate of teaching your child sign language before he or she is able to speak, but I will wait to get on that soap box another time.)
And while I have two sweet boys who know when to say their “thank yous” (most of the time), nothing could have prepared me for what happened a few weeks ago.
One Saturday afternoon, I had the rare opportunity to take a nap while the boys were napping. And an even rarer thing occurred when I let our three year old take a nap in bed with me (a habit that I would never want to get into…Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s coming down the road. Yikes!).
We took a nice long nap and as we both started to wake up from our nap, my son slowly opened his eyes and said, “I love you so much, mom,” and then he rolled back over and closed his eyes. My heart melted. You know when your child tells you something so sweet, that you actually gasp a little and grab your heart? Well, that was what happened to me.
After a few minutes of trying to soak up the moment, I told my groggy boy that he needed to wake up from his nap and that I would carry him into the family room so that we could snuggle and slowly wake up. He rested his head on my shoulder as I carried him from the bedroom into the other room, and he said, “Thank you for taking care of me, mom.” Now my heart was a complete pool of butter!
The fact that my three year old knew that I take care of him is amazing to me, but what amazed me even more was that he was thankful for the care that I provide.
It got me thinking. How often do we take the time to thank others?
While I’m sometimes tardy with my thank you notes, I always try to hand write a thank you note to friends and family. It is an old-fashioned, well-mannered habit that my mother taught me. Thank you notes are one of the sincerest ways to show someone how much you appreciate their kindness and thoughtfulness. Check out the Emily Post website: (http://www.emilypost.com/everyday-manners/common-courtesies/61-being-thankful-a-thank-you-note-qaa).
While I think I am good about thanking others, I started to wonder, how many times have I forgotten to write a thank you note, or how many times have I taken things that others have done for me for granted?
Think about your life. How often do you thank others for what they have done for you? Not just for gifts, but maybe a favor that they have done for you. Maybe someone you don’t know held a door for you. Do you thank your spouse when he takes out the garbage or cooks dinner for you? Do you thank a colleague who has made copies for you? Do you thank your child for being a good boy or girl when you are in the grocery store or running errands?
It is so important to thank others for what they have done for us or what they have given us, but more importantly, it is important to thank God for all of the many blessings he gives us daily.
Think about your relationship with God for one minute. How often do you thank God for what you have in your life?
Do you thank him for all of the good things that he has bestowed upon you, or do you dwell on the difficulties that you have encountered or are encountering? And when you are going through those difficult times, is that when you lean on Him the most...when you need his help to make things better...when you feel like you are drowning?
It is so easy to turn to Him when things are tough and we need His guidance or help, isn’t it?
Believe me, I know first hand that life is a mystery and it can be extremely difficult some times. But it can be extremely wonderful at other times. Recognizing the good in our lives during good times AND especially in the bad times is so important.
So here is my challenge for you:
1. For you:
A. Say your normal daily prayers, but devote at least two minutes of that time thinking about and making a list of your blessings, and then thank God for all of those many blessings that he has given you.
2. For your children:
A. Teach your children to be thankful in prayer as well.
Start a verbal list of things to be thankful for and then let him or her add to the list. *I try to pray with my boys at night. When I pray with my three year old, I thank
God for things that he may not think about, like a bed to sleep in every night,
running water, a roof over our head, clothes to wear, and food to eat. And then
I explain that there are people all around the world and in our country who don’t have these luxuries
every day and we talk about it.
*While it sounds like a difficult concept for a young child to grasp, believe me, it gets
him or her thinking.
B. Remind your children of what they already have
Let’s face it-children are children. They will always ask for that new toy or for something fun and exciting or bigger and better (My oldest now wants a hotwheels car ramp), but before you give into your child’s request, try to bring him or her down a level and remind him or her to be thankful for the things he or she has already been given. How will this work?
1. Try putting some of his or her toys away for a few weeks and then bring them back out. Your child will play with the toys like they are new.
2. Have children do chores around the house to earn money for the toy he or she wants.
You can teach a great lesson on money and counting, and your child will start to realize how grateful he or she is and will feel very proud when he or she is finally able to buy the toy on his or her own, instead of just getting it right away. (We are trying this with our three year old. He is saving for his hotwheels ramp. I’ll let you know how it goes...Fingers crossed!)
C. Raise your child with a healthy mind.
Instilling thankfulness in children is extremely important, so that when things go awry as they grow up, they learn how to cope better. And when they don’t get what they want, they learn to deal with it better. Teaching positive thinking and thankfulness is important for raising a child with a healthy mind and steering a child away from depression. Check out psychologytoday.com: (http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200308/depression-doing-the-thinking).
D. Teach your children to write thank you notes
As soon as your child is old enough to write, teach him or her the importance of hand-writing a thank you note to friends and family. My sweet nieces hand-write thank you notes to me and my husband, and I have hung them on my refrigerator. Is there anything sweeter than a thank you note from a child?
So remember that God is there for us and our children in good times and in bad. Many of us turn to him when times are tough, but when life is so good that you feel like you don’t need his help anymore, turn to him and thank him because that’s when he is wants to hear from you the most. Think about how you feel when someone takes the time to hand write a thank you note for something you have given them or done for them. It feels pretty great, doesn’t it? I’m sure God feels the same way.
He is waiting for his thank you note, so what are YOU waiting for?
