Day 2 of 4 Gratitude Challenge

1. Let’s start this morning with some simple things. As is said in Ireland, “Isn't a grand soft day for ye.” We have had string of what the Irish would call “brilliant” days with brilliant being the highest superlative possible with incredible warm sunny days. Today begins with dramatic shift, rain falling softly. Raindrops are hanging onto reddened fall-struck leaves before sliding off to finally reach a welcoming grassy lawn. I am grateful for this day the Lord has made for us. Let us rejoice with the earth as the dryness gives way live giving softness.


2. First on the list today are my sons, Richard and Brian. They now sail on boats of their own and have thrown off the hawsers that connected our boats together but they remain nearby so we are now a small fleet. They have grown into smart, sensitive, kind, loving and funny humans with a sense of mission and commitment to fulfill the one thing I have challenged them to strive for as adults – to make a positive difference in the world. I could not be prouder of what they have become. I am grateful they call me by my favorite name, dad.


3. It gets even better, Richard and Michaela Finnegan became engaged a few weeks ago and I am so excited to have her join our family. Like Richard, she is passionate, devoted, wickedly smart, funny and principled - not to mention beautiful. I will be proud to have her as a daughter in law. For her, I am also grateful.


4. There is still more. While I have loved Richard and Brian with a father’s love from the moment of their births, there was a long period of years when I was not the father I should have been and certainly not the father they needed but time has proven to be a great healer. I have been granted forgiveness. To have a wonderful relationship with two men who are the adult son’s of an alcoholic is gift with beyond measure. I have run out of superlatives so let’s start over again with a simple statement of gratitude. I am grateful.


5. It turns out I still have more to say about my children. I am grateful for adoption being an option for couples struggling to have children and for mothers who think they have only one option. I am grateful to the young woman who, in the face of an overwhelming situation, chose to entrust her child to strangers to raise as if the child were born to them naturally. That she turned away from the choice of abortion and from that choice grew a magnificent young man who is our son Richard is something the entire world should be grateful for having happened. Richard has been the perfect brother for Brian, our naturally born son, who followed Richard into the world. God blessed all of us richly and for these things I am also grateful.


6. I will close today by expressing gratitude for all of the people in my life who have taught me to be grateful and to use gratitude as a tool for recovery. You know who are. Thank you.


This ends day 2. Tomorrow will be day 3.

On gratitude....

This is day one of a 4 day gratitude challenge raised by friend/brother Rick Ahmann.

The first thing on my list is gratitude itself. I am grateful to have discovered, albeit later in life, just how powerful tool gratitude is in being able to create a happy life. Gratitude opens up relationships with God, family, friends and the world based upon appreciation and acceptance. Gratitude, applied, at first, in itty bitty steps can lead a soul out of depression. It smooths rough edges in relationships and gratitude can edge us away from fear and anxiety by helping us focus on what is positive in our lives. Gratitude works.

While gratitude works, however, it does not grow solely out of human consciousness. It is a gift that is measured and expressed through the grace of a loving God who kept His covenant with me even though years passed by in which I was not capable of keeping my part of the bargain with Him. The simple basic foundation of our existence is that God declared, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” We quickly understand that is the summit of Judeo-Christian theology and, for me, the understanding is ultimately comforting. That we have a loving God who has claimed us for himself is the source and wellspring of all gratitude. For that, I am grateful.

My next expression of gratitude should be directed at my wife Lori. We met 41 years ago and this past June we achieved 37 years of marriage. The depth of my gratitude cannot be expressed in a mere sentence of two but rather must be demonstrated through a re-dedication of the rest of my life. The 20 years I spent drifting in an unbounded sea of hopeless and despair would have been the end of me but she kept beacon light burning brightly to help me find my way home. She prayed that I might recover the life I was losing and she never, ever let go of my hand regardless of whether I was holding on or trying to pull away. While I am capable of sailing my ship of life, she has been and will always be my navigator. The good that I do is directly related to her willingness to always be the compass of my life and to help me back on course if I drift off the line to our next port.

Gratitude cannot grow out of obligation because true gratitude must always be freely expressed and freely lived. I learned that from her and that is the greatest gift one human can share with another.

Tomorrow will be day two. There is so much to say! Thank you, Rick Ahmann!