Today I am feeling thankful. Not just the "casual thankful" feeling associated with the holiday. This is something deeper, more meaningful.
2008 hasn't been our easiest year. In April, Mark was told that after 17 years with the same company, he would lose his job in June. It was the type of blow that we didn't see coming. That kind of news has the ability to rob you of sleeping, eating and even breathing at moments.
Funny how trials are often our best teachers. It is in the midst of them that you discover who you really are and what you're made of. We spent the summer figuring that out. We leaned on each other more during that time than any other.
We made a commitment to stay optimistic. When I was down, he pulled me up. When he was down, I did the same. We stayed up late talking many nights. We took long walks. We set detailed goals. Our prayers as a couple became more sincere. We spent a lot of time in the Temple.
Most of all, we determined to be grateful. Now that I look back, I can see that gratitude is what got us through. We counted our many blessings and named them one by one just like the hymn says.
We looked at our three joys and felt so grateful that they are happy and healthy. An abundance of happiness and peace flooded over us.
We had some very good friends that we confided in and leaned on. They are like siblings to us now.
We felt grateful that we had followed the counsel of our church leaders to live within our means, avoid debt and save for a rainy day. This brought great comfort to us.
As the days turned to weeks and then months we tried to stay true to our promise of remaining positive.
We actually found ourselves being thankful for this trial and the lessons it was teaching us.
In August, Mark accepted another position with the same company. It has turned out to be a much better job than the one he left. They also gave him a substantial increase in pay which will help in achieving some of the goals we have set.
I am happy for the good job and the extra income but I am most thankful for the deeper lessons that came to us this year.
Lessons in faith, patience and empathy. Things that I wouldn't have learned otherwise, things that will stay with me and make me better.
3 comments:
Job loss is not an easy trial...I'm so glad Mark is back to work.
Job loss and financial distress can be so hard on a family. My family certainly thought about you while you were going through this hard time. I'm glad things are better!
I'm going through the same thing right now: just trying to hang on to gratitude and pray that it gets me through what has been thrown into my path. I agree with you, it's the gratitude for what we have been blessed with that gets us through not only the really tough times, but through life. I'm hoping that it will help put a smile back on my face eventually.
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