A few months ago, when my life started falling apart, I was having an especially rough evening. My ex-husband had just moved out and at the end of the day the big house seemed so much bigger and far, far too quiet – and it was all catching up to me. And I was feeling sorry for myself, justified maybe, but it started really getting me down. So instead of just seeing how my life was falling apart, I grabbed a notebook and turned to a blank page and decided that I would just write down 10 Things in my life that I was grateful for. When your life is spiraling out of control that can be a bigger challenge than you’d imagine.
It took a few minutes, but when I was done I felt better. I had been so focused on all of my problems that I had overlooked the really amazing blessings that I have in my life. For the next few nights, that same feeling of gloom caught up with me especially at bedtime, so each night I would grab that notebook and add “Just 10 More Things” to that list.
It became such a healthy way to end each day that night after night I continued to add “Just 10 More Things” to the list. Last night I wrote my #2000 in the notebook (Volume 2, because I filled Vol 1 in January). Today I took a few minutes and looked over the list. I have an awful lot of things for which to be grateful. And most of the things on the list are people, the amazing people in my life – the people who unknowingly stepped into my life as an answer to a prayer at just the right moment. And for that I am grateful.
The truth of it is that most of the answers to my prayers have been delivered by people. The friend that called and invited me to lunch, just when I was praying for someone to help me with a big decision. The neighbor that just happened to be outside right at the moment when I was praying for a chat. The ward member who spontaneously invited me to dinner when I was dreading having to go home to eat a TV dinner one more Sunday.
It may sound trite to say that you can be an instrument in God’s hands, but from my experience this is absolutely true. I am so grateful for the amazing people in my life who say or do just the right thing at just the right moment and turn things around for me. Sometimes, maybe even usually, it may seem like a small thing – but those small things sure felt HUGE at the time. And for that I am grateful.
QUOTE FOR TODAY: “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
