Living Gratitude

Reminder:  If you've been keeping a Gratitude Journal now is a good time to update it.  Who blessed your life this week?  What events lifted your heart?  What did you see, hear or read that inspired you?  There are so many reasons to be grateful!  

A new post will be published each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

        Sometimes those closest to us are the most difficult to appreciate.  Why? Probably because, being who they are, they do nice things for us frequently and we sometimes take their thoughtfulness for granted.  It's also not UNlikely that they do things that irritate us and, we, being who we are (human), may focus on those annoyances rather than their helpful and considerate actions.
        When I was younger I would often chuckle at retired couples, because the wives sometimes complained that their husbands were irritating, being under foot all day.  Now that I've reached that same status I can better understand the difficulties of having a spouse around 24/7.  However, I frequently notice little things that have been done, and I know I wasn't the one who did them.  Is it so impossible to express appreciation for those acts of kindness and let the other stuff go?
        Many people take care of aging parents.  In my book, that's probably the ultimate expression of appreciation to the one (or ones) who spent countless hours preparing us for life.  My sister and her husband provided this service for my mother during her final years.  Did my brothers and sisters and I adequately express our appreciation to Toni and Paul for all they gave--and all they gave up--to provide Mom with a safe and loving environment?  I hope so, because their service was an incomparable act of gratitude to our mother who worked so hard to raise us.
        All around us, parents take care of sickly children, children take care of infirm parents, spouses take care of chronically or terminally ill spouses. In most cases this service is given with gentle thoughtfulness and concern--expressions not just of love but of deep appreciation for what the ailing loved one has given to our own life. 
         I asked my friend Lisa for permission to share her story.  She and her husband Quinn are taking care of Lisa's dad who has cancer.  A couple of days ago she posted this on her Facebook page:

Stupid cancer . . . Some of us want a new car . . . A new cell phone.. . To lose weight . . . But someone battling cancer wants just one thing, to win that battle. 97% of my friends won't re-post this, but 3% will. Let's see who does. Please re-post this in honor of someone who lost their battle, or for someone fighting it now.♥
GO DAD! You can lick this!

         Lisa probably has no idea how far-reaching her service to her father is.  It is so multifaceted.  She has not only welcomed him into her home, she is providing all the care that love can afford, seeing that his needs are met, and rooting for him as he fights to beat his disease.  She is also reaching out, beyond herself, to be concerned for those who are in a similar situation.  She seems to know what is really important in life: love, relationships, and service. Knowing Lisa, this doesn't surprise me.  She is the kind of person who consistently looks outside herself, seeking ways to assist others, not just in her family, but in her church and community as well.  However, as a caregiver myself, I know how wearing it can be--that constant concern for the health of a loved one.  So, I deeply appreciate her example of giving so diligently and completely.
         I share Lisa's story not to make anyone feel guilty, but because it is such a clear example of what love and gratitude can provide for someone in need.  We all have our own individual circumstances and capacities, and not all of us can or will give in the same ways.  However, within the realm of love and gratitude, we can each set aside the complacency of taking family for granted.  We can each find avenues for showing those closest to us how special they are, and how much we appreciate them in our lives. 
         Gratitude for family is probably the most difficult kind of gratitude we will ever express--let's face it, family can sometimes be abrasive and demanding. However, no where else will our efforts bear more important and productive fruit, because, really, family is everything.  And not in the way that Robert Frost expressed: "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."  No, the most deep and abiding ties in family relationships go way beyond "have to". Those ties are strengthened and made fast by expressions of sincere appreciation, manifest through acts of kindness, service and unwavering love.

TODAY'S INSPIRED QUOTATION:
To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.    Johannes Gaertner