in the Garden
Garden of gratitude Story by JILL MCSHEEHY
NOT A DAY GOES BY that I don’t hear someone joking or lamenting about 2020. No argument here. In some ways, the last nine months have passed like a nightmare from which none of us can awake. In a way, we’ve experienced a months-long collective grief. As such, giving thanks in November 2020 may prove to be a greater challenge. Yet, I think the exercise of seeking gratitude is needed more now than ever. The Bible speaks of gratitude as an antidote to anxiety, and secular research backs up this wisdom. Grateful people possess healthier bodies, more whole minds, and more contented hearts. In a month normally marked by thanksgiving, November 2020 threatens to bring anxiety to all-time highs. What do we do with the mounting pressures to our minds and spirits? I think it’s fitting to practice the very thing November in America is known for. It may take some mental exercise, but we can do it. I’ll go first.
I recall my first feeling of gratitude in late March. I walked in my yard on an early spring day, searching for a sense of normalcy as life ground to a halt. With my Slogger boots on, I headed to my garden. I don’t remember what work I did exactly, but I
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