A Year of Gratitude – February 17, 2024

I found my gratitude and peace in the same moment today. My son and I were outside handling a few farm chores. It was cold but the sky was bright blue and the sunshine made it feel warmer than the 32 degrees on the thermometer.

In a matter of moments, the sky to the West turned grey and dark. The wind started to blow just a bit. Blue sky was replaced with grey and tiny snowflakes began to swirl in the air. The wind intensified and suddenly there was snow flying horizontally in front of us. A snow squall had found us.

We hurried to put away our tools, closed up the barn, and headed back inside the farmhouse. This snow squall caught us off guard. It hadn’t been in the day’s forecast. We had no idea that it was forming nearby.

That might not sound like a moment when I could find peace and gratitude, but I did. The weather, like life, is unpredictable. I can’t control either of them. I can only control how I react to them. Today’s snow squall was a reminder of that.

I have to accept not only that I can’t control life, but that I can’t forecast how it will unfold. Even when I try, I don’t have the ability to foresee what the future has in store for me. I can only take a deep breath and find peace in the knowledge that I will do what needs to be done, that I will handle the challenges that appear in front of me. It helps to know that I will have the love and support of my family when doing so.

Letting go, accepting that I can’t influence forces beyond my control, gave me a sense of quiet peace. If I can’t control life, then worrying about it won’t do me any good. The worry won’t change anything, it won’t help anything. I’ll just spend time worrying when I could be doing other things like spending time making my son and I a warm cup of coffee to sip while we watched the snow swirl around outside the window.

I hope that your day included a bit of peace, that it gave you something to feel grateful for, and that it treated you with kindness.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.