Say Thank You......

There's a great little excerpt in Oprah Winfrey's "The Best of Oprah's What I Know for Sure". Oprah tells the story of weeping on her toilet and calling Maya Angelou for support (it took me weeks to get over my disbelief that Oprah cried on the toilet). As Oprah tells the story, Maya chided her and said "Stop it right now and say thank you!" When Oprah inquired as to why she was saying thank you, this was the beautiful reply she received from Ms. Angelou:

"You're saying thank you because your faith is so strong that you don't doubt that whatever the problem, you'll get through it. You're saying thank you because you know that even in the eye of the storm, God has put a rainbow in the clouds. You're saying thank you because you know there's no problem created that can compare to the Creator of all things. Say thank you!"

The article is prefaced by the following quote from Oprah:

"It's not easy being grateful all the time. But it's when you feel least thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you."

I'm writing about this because I'm aware that I easily lose sight of all that God provides, of how great he is, of how much greater he is than anything else that is immediately in front of me. Now more than ever I am in need of what that kind of gratitude can bring me. With that in mind, I've decided to reinstate a tool I've used before, the simple but powerful gratitude list.

1. Chocolate soy ice cream
2. A good husband
3. Potato kale soup from PCC
4. Rainy days
5. Triaminic for children

Also, I want to make sure that my joys are as well known as my grief, my trials, and my frustrations!