Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Nov. 24, 2004

Blessings can be tough to endure

A little plaque on the wall stopped me as I hurried through the store. Actually it was the words on the plaque that got my attention. "Dear Lord, Grant me the patience to endure my blessings." That seemed a topsy-turvy message until I thought about it for a few minutes and then I began to smile.

Always in the days leading up to the great American holiday Thanksgiving, my mind would be playing the old Sunday school song "Count your blessings, name them one by one, see what God hath wrought" over and over. At the top of the list of my greatest blessings was the arrival of our four children in a six-year period.

As I thought about those days of parenting that lively crew I remembered how every waking hour was filled as well as many hours when I should have been sleeping. It was then I understood those words on the plaque. Blessings those children were, but the only way I got through those days was with great patience.

Too soon it seemed the young adults began leaving the nest one by one until once again it was just the two of us in a quiet house. It was then that counting my blessings during the Thanksgiving season became more of a pleasure than a task. Each blessing had expanded because of the memories it carried.

Now the four children had families of their own. First they had added three daughters and a son-in-love to our family. Eventually eight new little lives became grandchildren on the family tree. Although we were separated by miles, Thanksgiving became the time everyone made the special effort to come home.

That was the time to pull out the stored mattresses to make beds on the floor for the grandchildren; defrost the huge frozen turkey if there isn't a fresh one available and so many more things to finish. It was all hustle and bustle to have everything in readiness before the families arrive. During those times of preparation how meaningful those words, "Dear Lord, Grant me the patience to endure my blessings." It was truly a blessing to be reunited as a family, a much larger family now.

Now as the days dwindle down to a precious few for the couple responsible for this family, we count our blessings daily. We received the gift of watching all four of those little ones grow into responsible, productive adults. Now the grandchildren are adults and two have made us great-grandparents of four.

No longer must I ask for patience to endure my blessings.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.