Grateful for my heritage

Yesterday I heard a beautiful story about a 50 year old man who had been given up for adoption. Twenty years ago he had reached out to his biological mom and she wanted nothing to do with him. Recently he did ancestry.com and had a match with a father, but all he knew was initials.

He did more research and found his father. His father was apologetic even though he never even knew he had a child from that relationship.

I’ve also been journaling and working on gratitude. I’ve been grieving my parents a lot this summer as well. Next month it will be 11 years since my mom passed and in December, 20 since I lost my daddy. In my gratefulness I’m grateful for the following:

1. That my parents were from families of faith that didn’t believe in abortion.
2. That my parents chose to raise me instead of give me up for adoption. My mom was 17 and my dad was 21.
3. I’m grateful that my dad married my mom rather than leaving it to her to raise me as a single mom.
4. I’m grateful that even though I was 5 when they divorced, they loved me individually well.
5. I’m grateful that my mom invited my dad to Christmas when I was 20, because I had so little time home. I was able to spend more time with both of them and my maternal grandmother. Some additional sense of family found that day! It was my best earthly Christmas gift ever (I have another blog about that.)

I just read a blog from Tricia Lott Williford (now Heyer) and she gave us the words to the song “The Dad he didn’t have to be” by Brad Paisley and posted beautiful pictures of her new husband being a great dad to her two boys that lost their dad when they were itty bitty. The minute I read the title I was in tears because I had something else to be grateful for: Rob my late husband was a great dad to my adult children in the 6 years we had together. He gave his blessing to my daughter and now son-in-love, and my son is currently on the trip of a lifetime in Amman Jordan doing an archeological dig because of Rob’s generosity. What are you grateful for this Father’s day?

Thanks daddy for loving me in so many ways. I’m grateful your salvation was assured before you left this earth. There will be a beautiful reunion in Heaven someday.

PS 50:23 “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

Father, as I was reminded recently, we can’t be grateful and angry at the same time. Help us all to be grateful for the rich, rich blessings of our lives. Thank you for my dad (and my mom and the rich layers of grandparents) you blessed me with. May others find abundance in their lives to be grateful for.