November.
It’s not just the month reserved for decorating the house with autumn leaves, pilgrims, cornucopias and cute, fat turkeys, although that is one of my favorite aspects of the month. Even more importantly, it’s also a month of thanksgiving.
I know we as Catholics should be thankful all the time. We’ve been given many blessings, and we thank God for those each week at Mass and in private prayer, as well. That spirit of thankfulness should be infused into every aspect of our lives, but I know I often fall short in this area.
It’s easy to get caught up in the hectic pace of everyday life with all its to-do lists, errands, appointments and stresses. I try to start my prayers each morning by thanking God for each new day and the gifts and opportunities it presents, but that feeling of thankfulness is not always close at hand when I’m stuck in a long line of traffic or spend 45 minutes in the waiting room of a doctor’s office.
Before too much time elapses, however, God usually sends me a reminder of how blessed I really am. Sometimes that reminder comes in the form of something simple, like a ray of sunshine peeking out from behind the clouds on an otherwise gray day.
Lately those reminders have been even more spectacular, as they’ve been coming in the form of tiny kicks and punches, courtesy of the already beloved baby my husband and I cannot wait to meet in just a few short months. It’s hard not to be in near-constant awe of God’s greatness when there’s a tiny being growing inside you.
Our baby constantly humbles me and reminds me of all that I have to be thankful for. What reminds you about the blessings in your life?
