Thankful List | January 31

A few years ago, I read the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. In the book, she talks about how she took the time to write down things that she considered gifts in her life.

When I started reading, I thought they were kind of silly, honestly. She writes in a very flowery way (which I came to appreciate by the end) and I thought it was really odd how she was writing down things like the creak in the floor was a gift.

About midway through, I really appreciated her way of thinking and began to try to think of the gifts in my own everyday life. I even hung a large poster in the back of my classroom (I was teaching high school math at the time) and called it the gratitude wall. I encouraged students to write anything that they were thankful for.

The responses from my students were both touching and hilarious.

I’m thankful for the hairdryer in the locker room.

I’m thankful for my best friends.

I’m thankful for the sweet tea in the cafeteria.

I’m thankful for this school and my teachers.

I spent several afternoons reading through the several hundred of them scribbled on the wall when I needed a little pick me up mid way through the school week.

A lot of the times I can get bogged down in this new role of motherhood and stay-at-home mama. Sometimes I see only that I changed several diapers, fed my baby and did several loads of laundry by the end of the day.

That is my season, and I’m learning to love it and embrace it and take it all in.