April 20, 2020: A Thankful Heart

 Inspiring a Thankful Heart

It is always healthy to have a thankful heart. When we are thankful, we become aware of how we have taken many aspects of life for granted. A thankful heart is not fearful and resentful. It has an amazing capacity to bring about healing in the lives of many others. It is an open door to hope and sometimes courage. Have you heard that an 85-year-old nurse in New Brunswick, Canada who has re-enlisted herself for service? She actually just retired about 4 months ago. She is basically thankful that her skills are needed and she wants to help to lighten the load of the nursing staff at the nursing home she used to work at. Her family is concerned about her well-being but she is not. People like her inspire me.

Having the ability to make necessary adjustments is critical in having a thankful spirit. No one really likes to be around people with a cranky spirit. We might need to re-evaluate our expectations of ourselves and others during times like this. When we learn how to stop complaining about how things used to be, our minds and our hearts might be enlightened by all of the new possibilities. We learn to see ourselves in a different light. We learn to see others with a different set of eyes. A young mother who is also a widow recently told that the time she has had with her kids at home due to Covid-19 is both challenging and rewarding. Her husband killed himself two years ago and she was somewhat damaged by unresolved grief, shame, and doubts. She has been able to embrace her kids' love and creativity more although it is challenging to work from home and "home school" the children at the same time. "But now my heart is full of joy even though I am so tired," she said to me. It used to be full of grief. Her spirit has been lifted and she can receive my compliment better now when I tell her: "You are an amazing mom and I am grateful to God for who you are."

Psalm 28:7: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to him."

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