The Importance of Being Thankful for Blessings - The Kim Monson Show

The Kim Monson Show

The Importance of Being Thankful for Blessings

It's easy to take what we have for granted. Patricia Kurgan shares the importance of being thankful with the blessing in her life. What blessings are you thankful for?
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It’s time to take the “clicker” of life sitting in the palm of our hands and hit the pause button.  Why?  In order to clearly see what we have been blessed with in our personal lives.  No static interference, just the pure, precise beauty of the colorful rays of our lives.

To the chagrin of my children, once we are seated at the Thanksgiving table and before we can gorge ourselves with the food we are about to receive, I ask everyone around the table to say what they are thankful for.  The eyes roll, fingers point as to who will start, and the responses begin resulting in laughter and, sometimes, a few teardrops.  (My children are supportive of my emotional reflections.)

I know that it is because of my faith in God that I have had the opportunity to live my life to the fullest.  This doesn’t mean everything has been easy, quite the opposite.  Challenges were flinging.  And it was those times that God lifted me up in his arms and carried me across the finish line.  God made me stronger so that I could live my dreams and instill in my children that there are no barriers in life that cannot be overcome.

I look at my children sitting around the table listening to their joyous voices.  I smile knowing that somehow we all survived the physical drain during early childhood, the physical/emotional/intellectual teen age years, the ultimate split for college and now reunited at the table as adults to celebrate.  My mind goes in all different directions.

Hours spent watching the “conductor” connect train tracks and build towns along the rails;

building Lego castles as the “knight” guards the fortress;

countless animals swimming through the ocean in our living room or horses galloping through the hallways to the William Tell Overture;

silently cheering on my stars as the bat crackles, the basketball swishes, water splashes and the soccer ball swooshes;

infinite hours wondering how Nancy Drew so easily solved her mysteries or what do Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, treacle tarts or cauldron cakes taste like;

and, of course, the tight grip of arms around my neck complimented by the swift kiss on my check at night.

I recognize that they are now all adults facing similar challenges that I experienced in my “younger” years.  Internally, I am celebrating their interactions and concerns for one another knowing that they actually enjoy each other’s company and friendship.

An additional gift from God blessed us a few years ago, the arrival of my grandson.  His innocence is infectious. When I hold him I shiver from the warmth of his love.  And this love is felt in so many ways.

When he rides on my back with a death grip around my neck while hiking;

the soft touch of his hand while walking on the Cherry Creek Trail;

the hard clasp of his hands on my leg yanking me to his desired location;

the smile in his crystal blue eyes;

his demand to “find me” as he hides behind a closed door or under the blankets and pillows on the bed;

his roar imitating the tiger puppet clothing his hand;

assisting Kermit leap through the family room;

the gentle breeze felt between our faces as we stare into the other’s eyes.

Tradition continues.  Memories are relished.  History repeats itself.

Thank you to my colleagues, my friends, my family, and, most importantly, my God, for the blessings in my life.

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