Two years ago I gave my family an empty jar for Christmas.
I called it the Joy Jar. I hoped it would encourage a spirit of gratitude in our home. The idea is to write a note every time you are thankful for something and drop it in the jar. As the year progresses, you see the pile of papers stacking higher.
One day we had to have a “reminder meeting” and we all sat down in quiet to jot down some things we had been thankful for recently. 🙂
The tradition is to open up the jar at the beginning of the New Year and read through al the notes.
We did that tonight.
Before we started, my husband and my daughter started to sing a tune from a song, “a grateful heart is a happy heart” from a VHS the kids used to watch when they were little.
I love this tradition. We each grabbed a pile and took turns reading our notes of gratitude. Each of us smiled when something nice was said about the other and we were reminiscint about things that seemed so long ago.
There were definitely themes. Repeated gratitude was expressed for:
The generosity of friends to allow Charlotte to return to her school this year
Noah’s great transition into a big public school
Hailey’s kindness in taking Charlotte to do fun things
Noah’s safety during football season
God’s provision for our family
So, today, I am overflowing with gratitude and the wonderful feeling you have when you take the time to say “thank you.”
“Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 118:1
