Some mornings when I wake up and look outside my window, I see the glorious golden and rosy hues of the sun rising in the eastern sky. An old song usually finds its way into my head:
There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow
There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow
The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye
And it looks like it’s climbing clear up to the sky *
Have you ever felt that way in the morning?
When my grandbabies were smaller, we sometimes would go for morning walks past the old farmhouse and then on past the still, dreamy meadows. I would sing the verses and then we would all chime in for the chorus, “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’. Oh, what a beautiful day. I’ve got a beautiful feeling, everything’s going my way!” How thankful I was to see and to feel the wonder of creation with these little ones.
Now, looking around at our country, our world, I have asked myself all too often, “What is there to be thankful for today?” Recent natural disasters in our country have placed thousands of families in dire need of help. People are still missing. There are medical needs not being met. Some have had homes, vehicles, livelihoods completely destroyed. Yet, here I am safe and sound.
One young man, who my family has known since he was two years old, lived through one of these disasters. He was warned only seconds before a tornado hit and destroyed his home. In those precious few seconds, he was able to shelter his baby underneath his body. Thankfully, neither was injured. I’ve no doubt there are many such stories of near misses to be told. Those survivors are the thankful ones. Others are still waiting for their healing process to begin.
When our world is turned upside down and the situation we find ourselves in is a big question mark, where do we find strength? We may be asking ourselves, “Am I okay?” “Are those I love okay?” “What is coming next?”
The truth is we don’t know what is coming next. Even The Amazing Kreskin wouldn’t be able to help you with that! And, freely turning our lives over to the next minute isn’t always practical. After a crisis hits and you dust yourself off a bit, it is time to take stock of the circumstances then move forward. Support and help, knowledge and guidance come from those ahead on the path. If we reach out to our family and friends to remind us of where we are strong, of what is solid at our core, it allows us to move forward with more confidence.
It may be tempting to add up only the losses, to bog down in permanent grief, but here is the important lesson that so many people have come to learn: take time to be grateful for every blessing. The daily practice of gratitude, of thankfulness, and noting every moment of grace will sustain us as we build a new future.
Someone once said that life is a series of new beginnings. I believe that, and I am so thankful.
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Lani Kelly is a research writer for Youthful Aging Home Care.
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* Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin', Laurence Guittard, Rodgers & Hammerstein
