The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and return kindness.

“Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone can say.” Alice Walker

What I’m grateful for….

For my family, for my friends, and so much more.

For understanding and knowing the gift of giving and being thankful when I receive.

For the kind souls, they are out there, you just have to be patient and work a little harder sometimes to find them.

For God and all that he gives.

Years ago I lost my voice for awhile. It was a pretty scary time. I had a very rare type of tumor. It rested close to my voice box and windpipe. It took awhile for my voice to come back, and when it did I appreciated it even more than before.

I don’t smoke or drink, never did anything like that…just happen to have a very rare tumor close to my voice box and windpipe.

The surgeon I had was one of the top surgeons out there for the tumor I had. Actually in the city I used to live in there were many top physicians but this physicians was a difficult one to see and get an appointment for, he was the one doctors go to when they needed help for themselves.

I remember my husband’s cycling buddy , who was also a MD himself, asked my husband how did we get an appointment with the surgeon we got, he is very popular and it’s hard to get him, he told my husband. My husband said that we just called and it went through and the next week I walked right in. So that was another thing to be so thankful for, so grateful we were able to get a good surgeon.

The day of the surgery there was a freak storm in our city, a left over storm from a huge hurricane had hit the city that morning. The surgeon and his staff came into the hospital soaking from the rain pouring outside.

There was a visitor there, a nurse that I over heard talking to some of the other staff. The staff were so happy to see her. They asked if she was coming back, and she said No, she was only there for that morning, she was in the city for a visit and they had called her to that hospital.

The staff were sad as you could tell this nurse was well loved. My immediate family was leaving the room where I was before they took me into surgery and the visiting nurse saw my daughter and stopped her in the hallway, and asked her a question, she could see that my daughter was sad….

“Are you a Christian ?” the visiting nurse asked

My daughter smiled, as that year she had become one, and answered with a huge smile “Yes”

The nurse then told her not to worry…she was going to pray over me before the surgery.

Later after the surgery, and at home, my daughter shared this story with me and I asked her what the nurse looked like and my daughter described her to me, That’s when I told her that was the traveling nurse that I overheard the staff talking to. There were other nurses there that loved her. They missed her they said.

There was another nurse though, one that walked the halls who was very young. She walked with arrogance. She was very pretty…I remember that. Long blonde hair, and very tall. Some of the other nurses seemed to not really talk much to her, their body language told me they did not have love for her like the visiting nurse.

After my surgery, the young nurse, would end up frightening my daughter. when my daughter asked her the question if I was okay…and that nurse took great pleasure in telling her…

” We won’t know for awhile until we get test results…you will have to wait for those”. she said sternly

Moments before, I had witnessed the surgeon, very excitingly tell the staff, which included that young unhappy nurse, that they had gotten the results after the surgery, and that everything was okay, it wasn’t bad. That nurse knew this information…but she seemed to take pleasure in making my daughter think something differently. Thus keeping my daughter sad for a little longer.

I believe that nurse fed off of the energy of hopelessness and depression. Because inside she seemed to shine from that lie she told my daughter in that moment in time, thus changing the energy of happiness that was in that room moments before.

Yes…there are people out there that do that. There are people out there who crave chaos and hate. They crave the opposite of everything good. Actually if you are a believer…you know those are actually not people I am writing about, I’ll leave the rest up to you to fill in those blanks.

I couldn’t speak at that time. I saw how upset my daughter was. I wanted a pen and paper…I wanted to fix what that young beautiful nurse had said so coldly to my daughter. Inside her was not beauty at all. For just a tiny moment she was able to take the joy that was in that room moments before.

Later at home I had a board to communicate with and wrote what that nurse did was wrong and that’s when my daughter shared the story to me about the other nurse, the traveling nurse that told my daughter she was going to pray over me during the surgery. That’s when my daughter and I shared stories and I told her that was the traveling nurse that I had seen earlier walking the halls. I remember her looking over at me and smiling.

” The staff loved her, and wanted her back in that hospital, but she told them she was only there for that morning “.

I went home the day of the surgery…that’s how they do things in America. You can go home with some surgeries. My husband’s cousin who is a doctor from the UK was shocked when she heard that years ago…she was surprised they did that in America. let people go home after any surgery because they didn’t do that in the UK. I’m not sure what they do now in UK hospitals, a lot has changed since the Bug Battle.

This Thanksgiving take a moment in silence to think about everything in your life that brings you joy, peace…and to a place of happiness. Now, take a moment to think about what does the opposite in your life, reminding yourself to stay away from that kind of environment, to appreciate the good even more.

Some people have a hard time finding peace. They feed off the suffering of others. They crave constant admiration. Arrogant and haughty, they play victim to shield the entitlement they carry within themselves, always trying to steal and destroy the happiness in others.

So the biggest thing I am thankful for, is that my immediate family and I are no longer in the environment of toxicity…no longer are my now grown children being targeted, excluded or bullied.

To the ones who copy…please be happy with who you are, and know that Jesus loves you just the way you are, he has always loved you…you don’t need to keep doing what you are doing to cause strife. God made you the way you are, and He makes no mistakes…just be you, and be happy.

This Thanksgiving I hope many of you out there are all in places of love , kindness and peace. And that you have many days ahead of you to continue on that path with gratitude, and thankfulness. May God bless and protect you and yours always. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Stay safe out there.

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