The holidays are a time of reflection for many people. Recently, when my wife Sarah was going over an early morning bible devotion, she mentioned the word `gratitude.' That was a word being emphasized in her particular study - quite appropriate during the recent Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas/holidays season.
I googled the definition of gratitude: `The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation and to return kindness.' My wife told me she had read that one way to appreciate each day is to wake up and name four things in your life you are grateful for. She went on to say she had learned that, even during trials and tumultuous times in our lives, we (all people) can always find things to be thankful for and express gratitude.
Sarah had this put to the test in her own life when she found herself hospitalized at Presbyterian in Albuquerque during Thanksgiving week. Yes, she was frustrated being away from home and in a hospital bed - especially over Thanksgiving - for eight days. But we both, upon reflection, were grateful for many aspects of her hospital stay: the wonderful nurses and nurse aids who were so loving, kind, and encouraging while taking care of Sarah; the incredible, state of the art medical facilities available to help all patients; the many friends and family who called and/or let us know Sarah was in their thoughts and prayers; gaining a new perspective on health and to never take it for granted; and many other reasons to be grateful, including Sarah's eventual discharge and release.
Like all of us, as the Christmas/holiday season approaches, I have many reasons to be grateful in my own life. Here is a brief list of things I am particularly grateful for: waking up each morning and breathing (think about it, throughout our entire lives, we inhale and exhale every second or so, not something to be taken for granted - `We are fearfully and wonderfully made' - Psalms); my family in Virginia - siblings, nieces, nephews, people who have always been there for me; my friends at Grants High School (GHS) - both current and former teachers, administrators, janitorial staff, etc. who have made my job as a teacher more rewarding than I could ever hope for; my families' provisions my wife and I never take for granted having a home, food, bed to sleep in, and vehicle to drive; our four dogs who bring so much joy to our lives; our country, the United States, which despite our hardships and divisions, is still a beacon of light for freedom and liberty around the world; my 11th grade English/ Language Arts and journalism students at GHS - I pray each day that I would have a Christ-like love for each of them and, boy, has that prayer been answered; our wonderful Cibola County (Grants and Milan in particular) community of which I have grown to love and admire during my 12-plus years here in the southwest; my wife Sarah, who loves me unconditionally and is the most loyal individual I have ever known; our local community newspaper, The Cibola Citizen, which employed me when we first moved here in 2012 and has gone above and beyond the last five or six years in helping my journalism classes put together and print our student school newspaper, `The Angry Jack;' our church family at Faith Baptist Mission; GHS teacher Charles Lundstrom, who allowed me to be one of his assistant baseball coaches for the Los Alamitos Buccaneers baseball team last spring - it was a blast getting back into the sport I grew up loving and playing; and finally I am grateful for Jesus, whose birth we are about to celebrate at Christmas. As the Angel of the Lord told the virgin Mary, as recorded in the gospel of Luke: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
I wish all readers and Cibola County residents a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!