If we aren’t thankful for what we possess what else is there? What good does it do to have the best of everything if we are discontented?
Having being diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, along with my sister Alice, due to having grown up in an orphanage, perhaps we are a little more grateful than some of our peers.
Maybe it takes emotional storms, of having the rugs jerked out from under our feet, to truly understand the trauma of hurting.Having stood on the edge of homelessness as a child and an adult, God has always stepped out of the woodwork to help me!
The older I get the more grateful I am for all that I possess!
If we have friends and family, a roof over our head, enough to eat and some left over, clothes to wear to keep out the cold and a few pieces to bolster our self-esteem, we are blessed beyond measure!
It’s not how much we possess but what possesses us! “Things can end up owning us” rather than being things that we own!
Years ago most of our ancestors had plenty to eat as they prepared for the winter by preserving food and chopping fire wood. The father made sure his family was fed and kept warm during the winter. Survival wasn’t easy as some of our parents plowed behind mules just to keep us fed.
Older people often reminisce how they seemed to have more time to enjoy the family, often spending time on the front porch talking to neighbors rather than watching television.
Today it seems that we are too busy struggling just to stay ahead of the “Jones,” to have lost the essence of happiness, the quality of life that is embellished in The Little House On The Prairie.
But how do we go back once we’ve crossed the picket line? How do we reset our values? How do we restore the family to its rightful place?
“Sometimes less is more.”
The more we get ahead we are often more emotionally starved than our ancestors were in the days of long ago.
Here I am telling one of my stories, which rings home to me.
I sense that the family has gone down the tube with all of the modern devices and social media, not to mention the fast food places where even the teenagers grab their meals rather than sitting around the dinner table.
Someone told me “you can’t schedule quality time. It has to just happen spontaneously.”
I am curious about all of the reality shows that are on television today including Duck Dynasty, Nineteen Kids and Counting and The Alaskan Bush People.
I believe that our nation is hungering for a return to the olden days, to God and family. We innately believe that God is real and that this life is not forever. We are just “sojourners” on this earth.
With all of this said I continue to be so grateful for friends and family who have supported me, who have been placed in my life to protect me from disaster.
God has always pulled me through the tight places in my life. I know that He always will because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and He always gets me to the right place at the right time.
For this I am thankful all year!
Contact Sarah at sarahp9957@aol.com
