Give thanks, even for the fleas
By John Long
On this Thanksgiving Day, it would be easy for me to admonish you to be grateful for all the good things you enjoy – friends and family, food and freedom. Instead, let me slip into preachy mode and go a different direction: Take a moment today and give thanks for the tough stuff. Say thanks for the fleas.
OK, not literal fleas. Let’s let the little bugs stand for the trials and tribulations we face in life. That which we endure but can’t enjoy, problems for which it seldom occurs to us to be grateful. Some of you immediately recognize my oblique reference is to Corrie ten Boom, one of the past century’s greatest heroines, in my book. If you know nothing of her life, take a few minutes and consider how an attitude of gratitude can change things even in the bleakest circumstances.
Long is director of the Salem Museum and a Roanoke Times columnist.
November 22, 2012 - 7:17 AM
Awesome article! Thank you so much,