“And the day was not even Sunday. As long as the blackbirds lasted, and the garden was green, they could eat like this every day. Laura thought, “Ma is right, there is always something to be thankful for.” ~ Little Town on the Prairie p. 106
In this part of the book, the blackbirds had ruined the whole corn crop. They’d been working hard for a long time to ensure they would have enough money for Mary to go to college and the last bit they needed was supposed to come from the corn crop. But Laura was happy that at least they discovered they could eat the blackbirds and have some very tasty meals.
I think we’ve already established through our series that the Ingalls had this amazing gift of being thankful for something no matter what bad thing was going on. They always seem to be able to find a rainbow during the storm.
This last year brought us alot of storms both financially and in everyday life. Things we didn’t want to happen and didn’t expect still happened. But somehow through all that we managed to look past it and have hope for the new year.
Something I always try and remember is that I can sit here and focus on the good or on the bad. I usually think of myself as more of a half is glass full person. Whenever something bad happens I try to look past the rain cloud and find the pretty rainbow.
When our financial situation wasn’t the best (or the times when we still struggle), instead of focusing on the things we can’t have or the bills we can’t pay. I choose to focus on the things I’m grateful we have or even something small like maybe a bill that was a little less than I expected that month.
Nobody said that life was going to be easy, perfect, or constantly wonderful. And there’s no point in thinking that our lives are always a basket full of roses because then we are just deceiving ourselves. But there’s nothing wrong with pushing through the hard times by looking for that rainbow.
Keep your chin up. Your glass is half full 😉
Make sure you check out the entire Living Like Little House series!
What fun!
Read the Whole series growing up…. Re-read it again 5 years ago… Just finished reading Farmer Boy with my 10 year old son. Sure opened his eyes.
The Little House Books have been a favorite all of my life. This is where my favorite quote from the books falls. I always try to remember “There’s no great loss without some small gain.” It applies today just as well as it did then. My boys have never been interested, but I still have a full set that I still read.
Thanks for sharing this message today…it was good to read and be reminded.
My chosen “word for the year” for 2012 is ATTITUDE…this article falls right in line with that.
I tend to fall in the ‘realist’ catagory and think that the glass is just another dish to wash. But I’m learning at my age…to be thankful that I had something refreshing to drink from it! Oh! yes I am.
thanks for sharing this post…
have a great weekend! Pat
Thank you for reminding me how to be thankful. Even in the worst of circumstances we should be thankful. God hasn’t promised us a rose garden, but he did promise us eternal life, and so no matter what for that alone we should ALWAYS be thankful. I am a negative person by nature but over the years I have taken the verse to renew my mind to heart. I could be negative about a lot of things, but I choose not too, because as you have already said our glass can be half full or half empty, it still has the same amount of liquid, but we CHOOSE to see it half full. Also, I love your blog, and I LOVE the INGALLS. I have read and reread her books for years, and still watch the show regularly. Good values are never outdated!!!