I understand that the late Dr. Fulton Oursler used to tell of an old
woman who took care of him when he was a child. Anna was a former slave
who, after emancipation, was hired by the family for many years.
He remembered her sitting at the kitchen table, her hands folded and her
eyes gazing upward as she prayed, "Much obliged, Lord, for my vittles."
He asked her what vittles were and she replied that they were food and
drink. He told her that she would get food and drink whether or not she
gave thanks, and Anna said, "Yes, we'll get our vittles, but it makes
'em taste better when we're thankful."
She told him that an old preacher taught her, as a little girl, to
always look for things to be grateful for. So, as soon as she awoke each
morning, she asked herself, "What is the first thing I can be grateful
for today?" Sometimes the smell of early-morning coffee perking in the
kitchen found its way to her room. On those mornings, the aroma prompted
her to say, "Much obliged, Lord, for the coffee. And much obliged, too,
for the smell of it!"
Young Fulton grew up and left home. One day he received a message that
Anna was dying. He returned home and found her in bed with her hands
folded over her white sheets, just as he had seen them folded in prayer
over her white apron at the kitchen table so many times before.
He wondered what she could give thanks for at a time like this. As if
reading his mind, she opened her eyes and gazed at the loving faces
around her bed. Then, shutting her eyes again, she said quietly, "Much
obliged, Lord, for such fine friends."
Oursler was deeply influenced by Anna's uncanny ability to always find
something to be thankful for. This wise woman taught him a vital secret
that many people have never learned: she taught him how to be happy.
-- From One Minute Can Change a Life by Steve Goodier
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