Lessons in Gratitude Day Seven

I am grateful today for perseverance. I looked it up in the dictionary just now and perseverance is defined as “steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” I can look back over times in my life when I have persevered through some pretty significant difficulties and made it through to the other side. I love the word steadfastness–you stay strong and move forward even if the outcome of what you’re doing is in doubt, or at the very least success is delayed.

And while I’m on “per” words, I’ll add the word persistence, which is defined as “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.” They’re connected, these two concepts. I watched my son struggling to learn a difficult piece of music. Over and over he played it, watching a video of the artist playing it, then imitating his fingerings and cadence. His persistence has thus far gotten him halfway through what he says is an “impossible” song. I’ve watched him do this many times, because his music is important to him. His persistence is admirable, and definitely firm and obstinate! I’ve little doubt he’ll master the piece in no time, even though he is largely learning it by ear and imitation.

I need to continue to persevere and persist during this period of drought in my life. I’ve known drought before and I likewise know the blessed relief when the heavens open and the rain begins falling again. That knowledge is in part what allows me to get up each morning and face the new day with a measure of hope and optimism. I a grateful for a legacy of perseverance not just in my own life, but in the lives of others in my family and others around me.

I am glad to have been able to write about gratitude these past seven days. I have no idea how long I’ll persist in writing these blogs. I do know that the exercise of focusing on and writing about what I am grateful for continues to be helpful to me. I hope those of you who read these periodically also find something in them to get you thinking about what you’re grateful for. There’s always something if I am willing to look for it.