What are you grateful for?

Reading through some old magazines in my rack over the weekend, I picked the January 2011 edition of South African True Love magazine. The mail page had the title ‘what you are grateful for!”. Someone said she was grateful for her son who woke up one morning, gave her a kiss and said to her “mom, I love you”. Another said she was grateful for her talents. Yet another was grateful that she knows Christ. One was grateful she kicked her addictions (drug). Another was grateful for a helper who stood with her when her husband left and her daughter decided to become a Rastafarian (and joined herself to a squatter camp despite having been through University). One was grateful for getting her degree, a job and a driver’s license and for the fact that her family was contributory to making her life as successful as it was.

As I read through each, I began to reflect on my own blessings. Not that I am not thankful or haven’t identified them before, but decided to enumerate a few of them by writing about them. Over the years, I have learnt to love myself unconditionally. This has helped me to search deep down and to apprehend some talents and strength I never knew I had. I am grateful for the gift of life and that I have remained in health for a long time now. Without good health, all that the mind worries about is getting better and little can be achieved in terms of work, self actualization or even gratitude.  I am also very grateful for my “beautiful” mind. The ability to be able to critically analyze issues in-depth and bring up ideas readily is something I will forever be thankful for.

I am blessed with a beautiful family – husband and two lovely children whom I’m getting to love more and more each day. I also have sisters and brother who are the best in the world. Very few friends I’ve got but they are as reliable, supportive and dear as anyone can ever wish their friends were. Above all I’m thankful that I am in the palm of my Father and his reassurance makes me face tomorrow with confidence.

Tomorrow is a day I may never know but hope grants me twenty-four hours and it’s up to me to maximize it. 24 hours, 7 days, 4 weeks, 1 year, the change we desire might not come as quickly as we desire it, but hope keeps it alive. Count your blessings and name them one after the other.

Have a beautiful week!