The 25th Day of Thanksgiving: Joy in Small Things

No matter where we look, it seems someone is telling us the sky is falling. They would have us believe that everything is amiss. But I have found a secret for happiness—It’s when I admire the small and simple joys around me. I know that the ebbs and flows of life are often not rosy, but I’ve experienced the difference my attitude can make and when I savor simple joys, my quality of life is enhanced proportionally. This reminds me of a time I’ll never forget.

Many years ago, after finding myself alone with two small children, we moved to a little home in the country to start our life over. Our next-door neighbor had a small farm where their chickens roamed freely. One day, Jared and Ashley excitedly discovered freshly laid eggs in our bushes after watching the neighbor’s chickens run off our property. We promptly gathered the eggs and returned them to our neighbor. I still can’t believe what he told us…he said he had plenty of eggs and we were welcome to keep them! Little did he know what he was giving my family during a difficult time. Those eggs were little blessings from heaven. We had eggs for every meal: boiled, poached, fried, scrambled, egg salad sandwiches, and quiche. My children looked forward to gathering the eggs each day and our refrigerator was filled with bowls of wonderful eggs. To this day, I remember those eggs as a small miracle that helped us through a rough patch, as we were able to get on our feet again.

An egg is a small thing—but we all are surrounded by many small things. When we savor those small things and see them as great blessings, we can have an “attitude of gratitude” that makes a big difference!