My mother-in-law had a great post on what she is grateful for. I am inspired and hope to share one thing or experience each day, until Thanksgiving, that I am truly grateful for.
I am grateful for so many things. All the obvious things, the gospel, family, roof over my head, but I really want to express my gratitude for the not so obvious.
Tribute to Gratitude #1
I am grateful for the time in middle school that I got a really bad case of tonsillitis.
It was awful at the time. I couldn't swallow anything. I really do mean anything. I had a cup next to my bed that I spit in because I couldn't even swallow my own spit without crying. It was the only time in my life that I really thought I just wanted to die. I spent day after day for a week, just lying in bed in pain while I starved myself. I became dehydrated and weak. On the rare occasions that I forced myself to drink some water, the pain was unimaginable.
It was a Friday when I had finally been able to swallow things without it hurting so bad. It still hurt, but I was getting better. I was home alone with my oldest brother while everyone else was at school.
Let me just explain, that my oldest brother used to chase me with black widow spiders. We had a few years age gap, and I didn't like him. I thought he was a bully.
So that Friday, I realized how starved and weak I was. I needed food, but I had no strength to make anything myself. It was that day that my brother did something so simple, but it changed our relationship forever.
He took me to McDonald's. He had never taken me in his car anywhere. He didn't really even talk to me much, let alone buy me anything. But he did that day. He bought me my usual at the time, a strawberry shake, fries, and a cheeseburger.
That was the day that I learned to love my brother. I found out how compassionate and fun he really was.
Not long after, he went on a mission and I missed him terribly. A little over a year ago he and his wife died in a car accident. I hate to think how I would feel if I hadn't had a good relationship with him.
I hated being sick. I hated the pain, the starving, and spiting into a cup every thirty seconds. But I would never give up that experience. It was that experience that showed me my brother's other side. It showed me his compassion.
Though at that time I never would have thought it would ever be possible to say this, I can now say that I am truly grateful for tonsillitis.
Inspirational Thought
11 years ago
3 comments:
(oops, I wanted to edit my post after I made it and ended up deleting it instead. Here it is again, with the edit.) That is such a special story! Not many people would be thankfully for an ailment, but what a tender memory it gave you of your brother. I'm excited to see what other not so obvious things you are grateful for.
What a great Idea, I might have to do the like. I loved the story. It really makes you realize why God gives us trials when you can look back on times like that. My Mom's death though hard on all of us strengthened my relationship with my brother David tons.
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