Being Thankful and Wealthy

My daughter's class presented a "Colonial Experience" yesterday. The children created a Tavern (The Rusty Anchor), a loyalists tea party, re-inacted the Boston Massacre and had a trial by jury for the offending British soldiers. (along with an explanation of manslaughter vs. murder)

That evening we talked about the difficulties of living in past centuries. My dear 10 year old commented, "It really doesn't make sense to not be thankful does it?" How right she is! I had spent most of the previous day on the couch with a case of the stomach flu .... not too terribly sick, but enough to drain all of my energy. Even though I was sick, I couldn't help but think how fortunate I was to be able to crawl into my bed. I had clean sheets, clean water, plenty of nutritional supplements, a DVD, and my sweet homeschooled children who took care of themselves, their father and me. Between my ocaisional moans, I was grateful to the Lord for the wealth in my life.

We often have conversations at our house on whether or not we're rich. Of course we are! Take a look at the rest of the world! However, our measure of our own wealth is really more an attitude than a bank account. I snuggled with my daughter last night and talked over these things. Whether she got it or not, I tried to impress on her the habit of being thankful. I've found that when you determine to express gratitude to God for the blessings in your life, He opens your eyes to see even more. Your heart expands. Your life is rich.