September
26, 2017 was a day that my world turned upside down. My husband, Tim,
died unexpectedly from a heart attack. Following his death, I became aware of a
side of him and a regular practice that he had that I didn't really realize how
big of an impact he was having on the lives of others. I knew that Tim
would post scripture verses and things that he was thankful for on Facebook
pretty regularly. It turned out that he did it pretty much every day and
he had a huge following who looked forward to seeing what he expressed
gratitude for each day. It was usually something simple that had made him
smile--one of our pets, a scene from nature, some good food, and often I have
been told he expressed his love and gratitude for me.
I began in November 2017 to practice a month of
intentional gratitude as a tribute to Tim, a way to connect to God, and as a
way to heal my grief as a new widow. I continued that practice in
November 2018 and 2019. I have decided to continue this practice of
intentional gratitude as a blog for the year of 2020. I have found that
when I practice gratitude, I am forced to find and focus on the good going on
around me rather than becoming fixed on the negative.
Give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18
Today, I give thanks for all the new starts that people are making. I am thankful for the Southern traditional New Year's meal of black-eyed peas, turnip greens and corn bread and that I got to prepare it and share it with my dad who is fighting stage IV pancreatic cancer. I am thankful for God's love that has and will continue to sustain me.
No comments:
Post a Comment