MORAL OF THE STORY:

“Count your bless- ings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes;

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smile instead of your tears;

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth;

Count on God instead of yourself.”

— author unknown.

Does it make sense to ask a woman who is grieving the loss of her daughter to speak on thankfulness and Thanksgiving? It doesn’t seem to, that is, from a human perspective.

But when a friend asked me recently to do that, I knew I needed to look beyond my limited perspective, to what I thought God wanted me to do, which was, in fact, to talk about thankfulness. I am happy to share that when I trust and thank God for His love and faithfulness, He sweetly comforts me in my sadness while also giving me a deep inner joy.

While preparing my talk, I realized that the more we list whom and what we are thankful for, the more we can think of, and some of the most grateful people I know are those who consistently write gratitude lists. Gratefulness has a positive snowballing effect. Focusing on our many blessings helps keep things in perspective.

We need to be thankful for the gifts God has blessed us with, but our biggest thanks needs to go to God, the giver of the gifts. Situations often change, but God never does. Let’s remember to count our blessings while remembering that we can always count on a loving God. And you can quote me on that.

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached at cindy@onthegrow.com or 537 Newport Center Drive, Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.