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NEED A LIFT?

Father Kevin Sullivan, while serving a church in Decatur, Illinois, called the congregation's children to come forward for a special children's liturgy. Surrounded by one hundred of the church's youngsters, Fr. Sullivan said this to the parents: "I'm thankful for two things. I'm thankful for all these wonderful children with us here today. I love them all. And I'm also
thankful for the gift of celibacy."

There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for, and those who will look for reasons to give thanks will tap into one of life's most powerful emotions. For a thankful attitude can lift a life --
spiritually, mentally and even physically -- like nothing else.

One woman was asked why her hospitalized husband, who had been noticeably discouraged the day before, now seemed so much better. She explained that he began to immediately improve after something had happened the day before. She had been sitting by her husband's bedside, casually touching a pearl necklace that he had given her years before, when a thought came to her.

"Mac," she said, "let's start thinking of every wonderful experience we've had in our lives, one for each of these pearls."

They started way back when they were first in love and that was the first pearl. Then they went along to their wedding day and then to their first baby. They continued recalling jobs, friends
and everything else for which they were grateful, all the way down the string of pearls. "When we finished with the last pearl," she said, "all the dark shadows had gone and happiness reigned in our minds and in our hearts." This, she said, was the turning point in her husband's recovery.

The late Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, who first told this story (IN GOD WE TRUST; Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994) said, "You, too, can shift from gloominess to happiness, from dullness to vibrancy, from boredom to excitement. Wake up, change your thinking, and see how good life can be!"

Do you need a lift? Take some time to simply recall, one by one, all the good times in your life. Make a list. Let yourself smile -- and laugh! -- and feel the pleasure you felt then. You may do this exercise alone or share it with somebody, but the more often you do it, the more you will remember. And the stronger those memories will become. It's simple. It's powerful. It's effective. And it just may be the lift you need.