Thankful Thursday

My mom was asked to teach a class at her enrichment about gratitiude. I asked her for a copy of it b/c it was SO GOOD (she read it to me over the phone)!!! I won't post the whole thing....but I just had to share the first part.

"When Sister Hilton called and asked me if I would teach a class about gratitude and how to teach it to children, I called my daughter Melissa to ask her how she teaches her daughters about gratitude. She told me this story. She has been trying to teach her two daughters Katelund and Cloey to be more grateful so when they start complaining or showing ingratitude she will remind them to be grateful by saying to them “you do not have an attitude of gratitude”. After several reminders over several days, on one particular occasion when Katelund was being ungrateful Melissa said “Katelund you do not have an attitude of gratitude!” Katelund tired of being reminded said, “Mommy, I hate attitude of gratitude!”

Obviously that didn’t work!

As I’ve been pondering gratitude and what it is, I’ve decided that even though the phrase attitude of gratitude is catchy, gratitude is more than an attitude; I like to think of it as having “a grateful heart”.

This summer I was blessed to be able to go to North Carolina and spend 3 weeks with my daughter Melissa and her family. They live in a partially built out neighborhood. One day I took my two granddaughters, Katelund and Cloey for a walk through the undeveloped part of the neighborhood. We walked along the street past vacant lots filled with weeds. As we were walking, Katelund said, “OH Grandma look at this beautiful flower! She saw the flowers in a vacant lot filled with weeds. Katelund may not have understood the catchy phrase, attitude of gratitude, but she is learning to have a grateful heart.

In this past General Conference President Monson quoting a well known author said,” Both abundance and lack of abundance exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend….when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present … we experience heaven on earth.”

When I heard that quote in conference I thought of my little grand-daughter who saw the flowers in a vacant lot filled with weeds."

Later on in her class, she recited the following poem...

I Am Thankful for… by Nancie J. Carmody

I am thankful for ….

…The mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

…The taxes I pay because it means that I’m employed.

…A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

…Dirty dishes in the sink because it means I have enough to eat.

…My shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.

…The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

…All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.

…My huge heating bill because it means I am warm.

…The lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

…The piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.

…The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive.

…Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive.