My new story is about the happiness that thankfulness brings us.

When I was a boy growing up we didn’t have much materially. I spent most of my childhood living in my Nana’s 75 year old house with my Dad, Mom, Nana, and two brothers. It was built from two shanty cars with lots of lean-to’s, porches, and other rooms built on as the years went by. I can only remember my Mom buying me new clothes two times. The other times I was given my two brothers’ hand-me-downs. Yet, I never felt ashamed because of this. I didn’t have any fancy toys either. I had a bike, a basketball, and a football. In the summer I had the outdoors and my imagination to play in. And in the winter I had the wood stove to sit by with my shelf full of tattered old books to read.

We never went hungry, though. We raised hogs for meat and had 4 huge gardens that gave us vegetables that lasted throughout the year. And every Sunday afternoon after church my dear Nana and Mom would make us a huge spaghetti dinner with pasta, potatoes, meatballs, chicken, and even steaks slow cooked in Nana’s homemade red sauce. It was a feast that filled the soul as well as the belly. Most of all we were rich in the things that mattered. Our house had a lot of laughter, a lot of smiles, a lot of joy, and a lot of Love. The truth is if I could go back in time to my childhood, I would only change one thing. I would try to be more thankful for every meal, for every smile, for every hug, and for every moment of love we shared.

The truth is happiness is not what makes us thankful. It is thankfulness that makes us happy. And the most powerful prayer in the world consists of three words: “Thank You God!” When you look back on your own childhood then be grateful. It made you who you are today.

May all of your days be filled with gratitude. May all of your days be filled with Love. May all of your days be filled with the happiness you create with each choice you make.