Silent Gratitude will benefit no one. Express it with your words and your life

I love Christmas! It isn’t any certain thing I can pinpoint but rather a combination of many. I love the music, the snow, the presents, the nostalgia of the past…… Every Christmas I reflect on years gone by, the Christmas celebrations in many different places. I grew up in Arizona and the holiday season was very different without cold weather and snow! How did we ever have Christmas without snow? Then we lived in Montana where it was very cold, snowy and a beautiful small town atmosphere. Then we moved to Michigan where we almost always have snow. I have spent Christmas in Pennsylvania with my grandmothers and other extended family. There is one thing I absolutely love about Christmas and that is being with my family. I have 7 children and there is truly nothing like being home for the holidays. It is such a joyous time to be together once again.

It seems like the nature of man seems to be a little kinder and more light hearted and generous this time of year. Oh how I wish we could bottle it up and extend it through all the seasons! I know for many it can be a difficult time. Those who don’t have family close by or possibly no family at all. These people are in need of a kind word and other gestures of kindness and hospitality. We all need to feel loved.

It is a time of year we see friends and family that we don’t see all the time. A time to express our gratitude to those we might never see again. It seems like every year as I pause to reflect on the past year, there are loved ones who have passed on. My opportunity to ever tell them how much I loved and appreciated them is now gone.

I read a story about a woman who owned an antique store and an elderly gentleman visited the store many times over the years. The man was a bit of a talker but truly an antique lover and relished the chance to regale the listener with tales of the past. The store owner was very busy on the day of this man’s yearly visit and did not get a chance to speak with him. She specifically wanted to tell him how much she enjoyed his visits to her store and listening to him reminisce. The following summer the man’s daughter visited the store and told the owner her father had passed away. The store owner felt an immediate stab of regret. She told the daughter how she intended to tell her father how much she appreciated him. The daughter told the woman how it would have meant such a great deal to her dad, if he had known. He had feared he was too great a talker.

Oh what a lesson to be learned. This holiday season we will all see people we might never see again. Let’s be mindful to express our love and appreciation to them. Sometimes just reminding someone how much a past deed of kindness meant to you will be a true blessing to the hearer. Anne Frank said, “dead people receive more flowers than living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude”. May our gratitude flow generously this Christmas to all our friends and loved ones.