Making a Thankful Tree is a Thanksgiving tradition for us.
It was one of those projects Kristie read about online and decided to implement. I am so glad she did! We basically take turns writing on paper leaves all the things we are thankful for and put them on a paper tree, a paper Thankful Tree!
Years ago I was going to up to bed and felt a wet spot on the ground in front of the couch. I though my wife had been irresponsible and spilled her water. (There was a time when she had glasses of water everywhere). It was late and I went upstairs, grumbling as I threw my wet socks in the hamper.
I didn’t think much about it until the next day. I had a long day at work and when I sat down at about 9:30 pm I realized that the carpet was still wet. I moved the couch and found that the backside of the couch and all the carpet underneath was soaked! So what did I do? I called my Home Teacher.
Jeff lived just a few doors down and was very talented home repair and construction. We pulled back the carpet and we found that there was water coming from the wall. He immediately ran home to get his tools and got to work. Over the next few days, there were dehumidifier fans, pipe repairs, new carpet laying, drywall installations, and a couch that needed to be replaced. It was overwhelming.
I remember one day during the repairs I sat on the part of my couch that didn’t smell like mildew, just staring at my exposed foundation. The thought we all have when things aren’t going our way came to my mind, “Why me?” Then I looked up and saw our Thankful Tree. The tune of “Count Your Blessings” came to mind. I stood up and began naming them one by one from the leaves. One stood out to me, “Good Friends.”
Instantly my attitude changed. I thought about how blessed I was that even though there was a lot of work to be done, our insurance was paying for it. We were able to hire Jeff to do the work, who was going through employment struggles and Christmas was coming soon. While we were losing our first couch, the cushions were all broken down anyways, now we would be getting a new one!
Nothing about my situation had changed, I had changed. I owe much of that change to my sweet wife who does things to make our home a more spiritual and loving place.
She shared a tutorial this week on how to create a Thankful Tree of your own. Stop my her site and check it out, and all the other fun crafts and recipes she is coming up with.
