The Grace of Gratitude

As she anticipates Christmas without the usual visits from family, Lisa Simmons remembers to find ways to be grateful.

Christmas time is here, well almost … but I have my music going slowly changing my thoughts towards baking, crafting and decorating and packing up a box of Christmas cheer and goodies to send to our daughter and son-in-law who live far away. As I begin to feel down about not seeing them at Christmas, I try to remember I need to have an attitude of gratitude for email, texting, phone calls, Face-timing. This technology is able to bring us closer than what my grandmother had with her children fifty years ago when phone calls were horribly expensive.

I can still recall as a child when we would travel three hours to see my grandma and she would want to know when we made it back home safely, but it was so expensive to make a phone call then that she would tell my dad to just call and let it ring two times and hang up -- then she would know we were safely home! Obviously my grandmother didn’t receive hundreds of spam phone calls back in those days. You only used the phone if you really needed to contact someone!

It is easy to forget about having an attitude of gratitude, especially when we see so much sad stuff going on in the world. That same technology that connects us also informs us of every bad storm, earthquake, disaster, manmade violence, and more going on in the world. Sometimes we get so caught up worrying about those things we forget the blue sky above us, and that we woke up this morning, have jobs that feed and help pay for shelter, and have our families.

So when I DO remember to get my attitude back in line, I try to make a list to remind me of everything I am grateful for and want to thank God for. He has given us all so much and walks with us every step of the way. I am grateful … that I can see my granddaughters every week and play with them and watch them grow. I am grateful … that I am able to afford technology to stay in contact with my husband, our three children, my mom, my sisters and my brother. I am grateful ... I have a fun-loving husband with whom I’ve been creating Christmas tree ornaments to give to our kids for Christmas this year. We have been spending several evenings painting wood ornaments for all of them. I am so excited to get to create homemade things this year! And the fact that we can do it together is even better.

When our kids were really little, one Christmas I was really into sewing and quilting and we spent evenings in the basement after the kids were in bed creating Christmas gifts and my husband would bake blueberry muffins for us to nom on when we were too tired to craft anymore!

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When I DO remember to get my attitude back in line, I try to make a list to remind me of everything I am grateful for and want to thank God for. #catholicmom

Despite everything wrong in the world, God is the right and each day He gives us reminds us that He is grateful for us! Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of the earth and sky, my family, friends and the grace of a faith of gratitude!

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