Hope you all enjoyed Part 1. Let's continue with Part 2 of the things for which I am grateful! Part 3 will be coming soon!
Family
I will be eternally grateful for my family and the values with which they gifted me. My immediate family are all deceased as are my aunts and uncles. My Aunt Alice died about two years ago and I feel that her death--marking the end of a generation--unleashed the tears that I had held in over the years. That may be something else for which to be grateful! I thank God for the family I have left--my wonderful sister-in-law, my loving cousins, and, of course, my ever-caring Franciscan family.
God
I guess it seems strange to position God in "correct alphabetical order" rather than at the "top of the list." But when I think about it, God is the "end all and be all" of the list. God's love permeates every aspect of this list--and ultimately of any list I might devise. To try to express my gratitude for God's presence in my life is beyond the power of words. Perhaps the best way is simply to say "My God and my All"!
Humanity
When I speak of being grateful for humanity, I don't really mean other people--although I'm certainly grateful for all who have graced my life. I really mean that I'm grateful for my own humanity--my "humanness." I suppose God could have created me as something else--a bird, perhaps, or a lily! (Take note that I suggested somewhat graceful creatures!) But I've actually come to like being Ann Marie--fully human, not perfect, and definitely not graceful. And so for all of that, I say "Thank you, God!"
Idealistic
I had only been professed a few years when I met on of the sisters with whom I had worked when I was in high school. I was upset at the time and proceeded to tell her why--describing situations that I felt were unkind and uncharitable. She, in turn, stressed the fact that we're all human with human weaknesses. She also asked one of the sisters with whom I lived to look after me because she feared I was too idealistic. Well, I'm sure that over the years I've become a bit more realistic but that early idealism is still something that is part of who I am--and a measurement of some sort of who and what I want to become. Somehow I think the two work well together!
Joy
I'm grateful, too, for the gift of joy. That doesn't by any stretch of the imagination mean I'm a "bubbly bouncy" person. I'm actually a rather quiet person unless I'm with people with whom I'm very comfortable. I guess the joy I'm talking about is a kind of inner joy--a sense of inner quiet or peace that I can draw on even when I'm in a difficult situation. Sometimes I forget this and need to be reminded--especially when I'm upset about this or that. Then I need a time of quiet to remind myself that the "this and that" is really only temporary and that the inner joy and peace are permanent parts of me.
