As Linda Leigh sipped her morning
coffee, she became increasingly aware of the birds that flew to and from the
feeders outside the screened-in porch where she was sitting.
Unlike her, they seemed to be
unaffected by the chilly air. They conversed with each other as
happily as they had on spring mornings and balmy summer evenings when she’d listened
to them as she’d sat alone in her favorite chair on the porch and sipped her hazlenut-flavored
coffee.
As she enjoyed the sight and
sounds of the birds, the words to a simple blessing she’d said with her
third-grade students many years ago popped into her mind.
“Thank You for the world so sweet.
Thank You for the food we eat. Thank You for the birds that sing. Thank You,
God, for everything.”
Surprised by those long-forgotten
words, Linda Leigh whispered them aloud—and realized, for the first time in
over 30 years, that she felt truly thankful. With pleasure she noted
that the feeling warmed her cold heart even more than the hot coffee warmed her
chilly body.
Clasping the hot mug, she mused, Is it possible to give thanks for everything?
Her first response was Absolutely not! I will never be able to give
thanks for the horrible things I’ve been through. Never! Never!
But as she listened to the birds,
she reflected on how they chirped happily in stinging cold or sizzling heat, in
pouring rain or in dazzling sunshine.
She, on the other hand, had let
circumstances snatch her song from her. But as she listened to their songs and
watched the energetic actions of the Chickadees, the Nuthatches, the Finches,
and other birds as they flew from feeders to trees, she wondered, Will I ever be able to recapture the joy I’ve
lost?
O how she wanted to feel happy and
purposeful again instead of angry over and defeated by the hard blows she’d
sustained. So, taking another sip of coffee, she whispered, “Thank You, God,
for the warmth I feel.”
As she sat there, she spoke yet
another small thanksgiving. “Thank You, God, for these quiet moments to linger
here before I meet with the oncologist.”
Realizing it was time to go, she
stood—and was surprised once again to hear herself whisper, “Thank You, God,
for strength to stand.”
The following morning when she was
sitting on her porch and sipping her coffee, her friend Marie stopped by to
check on her. Linda Lee said, “Pour a cup of coffee and come out here. I have
something to tell you.”
As Marie seated herself, Linda
Leigh said, “The strangest thing happened to me yesterday.” After telling Marie
about the blessing that had popped into her mind and how she’d surprised herself
as she’d begun to whisper one-sentence thanksgivings, Linda Leigh said, “And I
couldn’t stop! Throughout the day, I said things like, “Thank You, God, that I
can see and smell. And hear. And taste. And feel. And Thank You, God, for
money to buy the things I need.”
As sentence after sentence spilled
out of her mouth, Linda Leigh noticed Marie was smiling at her.
“What?” she asked.
“I think the ice around your heart
is melting,” Marie said softly.
“I believe it is!” Linda Leigh said.
“I still can’t thank God for everything He’s allowed to come my way, but I can
thank Him for the things He’s given me that help me get through the tough
times.”
Smiling, she whispered, “Thank
You, God, for a friend like Marie.”
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