Gratitude

By Nicky King

Dad was a police officer and worked hard to support our family when my brother and I were little. He worked multiple jobs so that Mom could stay home to care for us. As we got older and started attending school, Mom became a school bus driver. She not only had the cleanest bus, but a well-disciplined bus. The kids loved her and understood when she meant business. As a child, I never remember being thankful for having to work hard, for being disciplined when I did wrong, and for unconditional love and support. As I grow older, these have become my best memories.

Recently, I started to reflect on all the people that have impacted my life for good. My Mom and Dad are at the top of my list. The three things for which I am most thankful for are …

1.       Being shown a strong work ethic that looks for things that need to get done without complaint or being asked.

2.       Being taught the difference between right and wrong.

3.       Being involved in our lives to create wonderful memories with teaching moments.

Mom and Dad worked hard to provide a secure and loving home. They never complained about having to work multiple jobs to provide for our family. What they built over the years could be measured by countless hours of hard work!

We were disciplined. When we did right, we were encouraged to continue in the same manner. When we did wrong, we were reminded that wasn’t one of our better decisions. There were rules and we needed to follow them. With success, we were given more responsibility so that we could grow and mature to make decisions on our own.

Mom and Dad attended all our sporting events, band concerts, parent teacher conferences, etc. We took many family vacations together. We created fun traditions that everyone would eagerly anticipate year after year. By examples, they showed us the path we should take in life.

While it is great to be thankful for the fond memories, what about the hard things in life? There are times we all struggle both personally and professionally. According to Neal A. Maxwell, “Trials and tribulations tend to squeeze the artificiality out of us, leaving the essence of what we really are and clarifying what we really yearn for”. So true! My upbringing has given me a strong desire to work hard, be honest and love others. While I am certainly grateful for all the fun times, I can be thankful for lessons learned because they help me to grow. Thankful for stress because it pushes me to rely on others. Thankful for difficult deliverables because it expands my usefulness. Thankful for countless, sometimes unending meetings, because it allows us to collaborate and grow as a team. Thankful for conflict and difficult people because it allows me to grow in areas of kindness, love, patience, and longsuffering. Am I perfect? Absolutely NOT! Do I struggle? Every day! Will I continue to grow? That is my hope! Healthy perspectives can help turn undesirable circumstances into something we can be thankful for.

Much love, admiration, and gratitude to my Mom and Dad!