The Welsh-born poet, George Herbert, wrote “Thou hast given so much to me, give me one thing more, a grateful heart.”
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?
Maybe it takes having an emotional storm,having the rugs jerked out from under our feet, to truly understand the trauma of hurting.
God has always stepped out of the woodwork to help me from the time I went into an orphanage until now.
If we have friends and family, a roof over our head, enough to eat and some left over, clothes to wear to not only keep us out of the cold but a few pieces to bolster our self-esteem, we are blest beyond measure!
It’s not really how much we possess but what possesses us!“Things can end up owning us.”
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 even though survival wasn’t easy as some of our parents plowed behind mules just to keep us fed.
Families often slept in a one room log cabin which may have caused less of a disconnect among families.
Older people often reminisce how they seemed to have more time to enjoy each other,spending time on the front porch, talking to their neighbors, rather than watching television.
Today we are too often busy struggling just to stay ahead of the “Jones” that we appear 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?
It’s been said that “sometimes less is more.”
This attitude may be what is leading to the tiny house movement.
Struggling to get ahead, we may be more emotionally starved than our ancestors were in days of long ago.
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.
My son one told me “you can’t schedule quality time. It has to just happen spontaneously.”
I believe that our nation is hungering for a return to the olden days, to God and family. We innately know that God is real and that this life is not forever. We are just “sojourners” on this earth.
God has always stepped out of the woodwork for me, getting me to the right place at the right time, showing Himself in the form of “God Winks” that I love writing into stories as part of the legacy I hope to leave my family and my readers.
If we aren’t thankful for what we possess what else is there?
Contact Sarah at [email protected]