If your marriage is thriving...
Be grateful for your marriage, for life as it is, the happy moments, the laughs, the intimacy, the meaningful conversations, the great sex, feeling loved, the trust between you and your partner, someone to share your heart with, a soul mate, a partner you can entrust every part of yourself to, memories that leave romance novels in the dust, and the promise of a great future. Be thankful for a spouse you can give every part of yourself to with reckless abandon...
If your marriage is good, but not great...
Be grateful for your marriage, for a partner who loves you, for someone to share your life with, for a companion who stands with you, for someone who cares about you and lets you know that, for those special moments that create good memories, for the growth you have seen in your marriage, for knowing you are not alone, and for the promise of more good things to come. Be thankful for a spouse you can give yourself to, knowing they value you as you are...
If your marriage is surviving...
Be grateful for your marriage, for a spouse who is tough enough to hang in there through the hard times, for the promise that things can get better, for buried hopes that can be resurrected, for new dreams that can be created today and lived tomorrow, for someone who honors their marriage vows, for the knowledge that tomorrow gives you a fresh start, and for the promise that it is not too late to have a great marriage. Be thankful for a spouse who is still in the process of learning to value and appreciate you, and for the opportunity to demonstrate daily how much you value and appreciate them...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Well said. I don't think I've ever heard the message of gratefulness put quite this way before. I appreciate your post and hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, Kevan. It's easy to lose sight of the good things when the going gets tough, but with a little reflection we can all find things to be grateful for. That is something I try to remind myself of often, through the good and the bad times.
DeleteBeautiful Thoughts In Words. God Bless You and Yours, Belle L.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Belle. May you and your family also be blessed.
DeleteBeautifully expressed, OFM, as always very wise words. I love the saying - it doesn't matter if the glass is half full or half empty, be grateful that you have a glass. To me, the glass is potential, and the promise of return on emotional investment, and even when things aren't ideal we can work together to make things better, and ease the journey for each other.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. I am with you on "be grateful that you HAVE a glass." We have become a spoilt society that takes too much for granted. We have so much, yet are seldom satisfied. And it is not just material things we take for granted - it is also those precious things like relationships. I like your view of the glass as the promise on investment. Relationship-building takes time, and is achieved one choice at a time. Yes, we can work together to make things better, and we should be doing that by making wise choices a day at a time.
DeleteThank you. This is a wonderful reminder for us to hold tight to what we do have and be thankful. I feel this every day which I am with Dave; so much so that I sometimes feel it is a dream, one I would never want to wake from. Marriage and life is not perfect, it is what we make of it. I am also thankful to find those of like mind.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jacquie. It's wonderful to read how you express your appreciation for your husband. I agree - no marriage is perfect: there is always room for growth and improvement. But it starts with us being grateful for what we have. Thanks for sharing your perspective with us.
DeleteJust found your site. I absolutely love it. Thank you!
ReplyDelete~Alta
Thanks for visiting, Alta. Glad you enjoyed what you found.
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