Thanking the Littles

My daughter and I were visiting a friend the other day. She and her husband have 6 boys, the youngest is almost 2. We chatted, pushed the little boys on the swings, prayed together, ate together and even helped "Knight" the cat with the birth of 4 kittens. "Knight", by the way, has a new name now though...."Katrina."

I love all my visits with this family, but this one really struck me in many ways. Maybe because my 21 year old daughter was in town for the week and went with me and it was just great to be surrounded by so much love.

While we were chatting, two of the boys kept trying to convince mom that something was going on with the cat, telling us of blood in the garage. One said he'd seen the mom "eating" something (she was carrying a kitten to a private spot) and the other said he'd tried to wash the blood down the garage drain. We finally decided to investigate to see what was going on because it sounded like a cat, who was thought to be male, was having kittens.

When we went to the garage you could hear the tiniest meowing and it took us a few minutes to locate the new life. Took us a little longer to find mom, who had another new life beside her. We got mom and babies transferred into a box, padded with towels and before we knew it, two more babies arrived. The miracle of life, witnessed by 9 people who did not expect to see such a thing that day.

The boys helped with everything during this visit. They looked after one another, helped set the table for lunch, helped clear the table, offered beverages throughout the visit - even going after ice water for us when we were outside in the sun. They brought chairs down to the play set so we could sit and watch the littles and took care to help push them on the swings as well.

They showed us the traps they had set, the trench they had dug, their forts and even the carcass the dog had drug up from somewhere on the property.

When one of the littles came and handed my daughter a flower, she thanked him and she even made sure to put a little piece of paper someone had "written" something on in a book we took with us. Another of the littles gave my daughter a stick and she took it (she has worked with many, many children). I off handedly said it's so important to tell the little ones thank you for everything they give you because it encourages them to continue giving. We need to teach our kids how to give and not just receive.

We forget to do that some times. We forget that we should be thankful for everything. These little ones reminded me to be thankful for everything that day. I was so thankful that my daughter was home for the week, thankful that we were visiting these beautiful friends, thankful to be able to witness the birth of these little kittens. I was thankful for my friend and for her boys. The list goes on and with each thing I thought of, I was just so joy-filled that God was allowing all these blessings.

When we thank others, it encourages them to continue doing good. When we thank others, we acknowledge the blessing they are to us. When we thank others, we become more grateful.

Everyday, look for things to be thankful for in your life. It may take some practice to find things, but they are there. Be habitually thankful.