Grateful for tonight’s blog guest written by my “big brother,” Alan Chamblee. Enjoy!
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I have read this gratitude blog each and every day that my sister has written it. At some point, she asked me if I would like to write it one night for her. I have seen my niece Michal and my sisters Ruth and Sandy take their turns at writing the blog, but I did not think I was up to the task. However, since Terry has mentioned more than once that she may soon stop writing the blog on a daily basis; I decided that I better take my turn, since I am grateful for many things.
First of all, I am grateful for many of the very same things that we are all grateful for, the most important of which is family. Family is the reason I exist, it is the reason that I breathe, and it is the blood running through my veins. I am grateful to have come from such a strong family back ground. I was taught at an early age that loving and looking out for my brother and sisters was my responsibility. While it has been stated previously in this blog that I was the “mischievous” kid of the bunch, I have taken my responsibility to look out for my family seriously. All of my family. I am grateful to know that they are always there for me also. I don’t think that there is a single time I have ever needed to lean on one of my siblings that they were not there for me. For this I am grateful.
I am also grateful for being blessed with 3 wonderful children. They have taken the best parts of their Mother and I and have become smart, compassionate, beautiful human beings that any parent would be proud of. They are certainly not perfect, but they will make this world a much better place for having them in it. For that I am also grateful.
I am grateful for good health and a strong back, it has allowed me to do the things that I needed to do to raise my family. My health has allowed me to not only work to support them, but also run, play catch, throw the ball, chase the kids, etc. I am grateful for all of this!
Finally, I am grateful to God for giving me all that he has given me. Every time I have asked him to help me be a better man, a better father or a better husband, he has always heard my plea. Whenever my knees buckled under the weight of the load I was carrying, he lifted something off. Each time I felt that I was lost or did not have the energy to carry on, he showed me the way or he carried me. For all these things I am grateful. I have always been a “glass half full” kind of person, it is never hard for me to find something to be grateful for, and today I am grateful for this opportunity to share my blessings!
