“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,who does not change like shifting shadows.”
-James 1:17
In his book, “The Celebration of Discipline” theologian Richard Foster describes a spiritual practice of surrender by thinking about all your anxieties and “laying” them down quite literally before God with both my palms down on the floor. Then asking the Lord to fill you up with his Divine Goodness with palms raised up empathy and open. So I applied this soothing practice to attitudes and gratitudes this Thanksgiving, focusing on ten attitudes to lay down and ten gratitudes to lift up in thanks and praise to The Giver of Good Gifts.
10 Attitudes to Surrender (palms down)
Death- the fear of losing my boys, the despair at the lost of those who’ve already died (my sister Carolyn)
Disease- contracting COVID-19, or being diagnosed with cancer or some other disease
Body- how the extra 30 pounds on my body makes me gross, ugly, with stretch marks and fat rolls
Home- that we don’t have the means to improve our home with a leaky window, marks on the wall in need of repainting and old yucky carpets. That we need a bigger home with a basement and a flat backyard.
Family- that my parents and sister lack patience, fight too much and aren’t the most helpful folks (a critique lacking substance). That my in-laws divorce causes unredeemable riffs in our family.
Faith- God feels distance and not a constant in my daily life. Mass with toddlers means tantrums and tears.
Fellowship- other women find me too weird and don’t desire sincere deep friendships with me.
Older son- Matthew’s tantrums and frequent “no” to my requirements of him causes such anger and frustration in me.
Younger son- Tristan’s crying and refusal to breastfeed creates such irritation in me!
Husband- finds me a nuisance, and would rather play video games than interact with me. That I always irritate him and that I am unwanted.
10 Gratitudes to Celebrate (palms up)
Life- that my boys, husband and two sons are alive with me now, healthy and thriving.
Health- the growth of my strong big boys both physically and emotionally, for Thomas and me not contracting COVID or any other serious ailments
Body- For a healthy, easy pregnancy and labor with Tristan born August 11, and the ability to carry life and sustain my babies both in and out the womb.
Home- a neat and beautiful home just the right size for our family of four with a lovely screened in porch for the children to play.
Family- for the help of my mother, BeBe with my sons both in play and care, my dad playing “cowboy” with a Matthew, my sister playing piano with Matthew and Sunday night dinners my parents provide. For the close friendship of my husband and his father.
Faith- for mass in person, the gift of healing/ insight, before the Eucharist encouraging me to be like Mary full of Grace in my motherhood
Fellowship- for discipleship quad Monday mornings and brunch with mommas Friday mornings to encourage my faith, motherhood and inspiration to growing in virtue. For our neighborhood friends, especially Sam and Ari who provide food and fun on a weekly basis.
Older Son- for Matthew’s growth in letter recognition, spelling his own name, riding a tricycle downhill on his own, plays with 10 and 11 year old neighborhood kids so well, and loves playing with trucks in the backyard, and following the garbage truck around the neighborhood.
Younger son- how he eats and sleeps so well, loves to “talk”, smiles, giggles when you scratch his stomach and loves being held/cuddled.
Husband- that Thomas cooks us breakfast/ dinner most days, loves to play catch/ wrestle with Matthew and snuggles/ tickles Tristan daily. How Thomas holds me when I am flustered with our children and cuddles me at night and after I wake up early to fed Tristan.
So may you put down the attitudes hindering your life, health, body, home, family, faith, fellowship, children and spouse and hold on to the gratitude to expand every area of your existence!
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