Being Thankful for Healthy Children

mom and her son both wearing black

What is something that so many of us take for granted? Our healthy children.

As a parent, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day life and the hectic happenings that come with having a family. Then, one day, they wake up with a fever, a headache, or maybe a tummy ache. A little TLC and a few days later, they’re as good as new. Truth be told, one of the most painful things in life is witnessing the hurt of your own children. We, as mothers, want them to be happy. We want them to be healthy, and we take it upon ourselves to always do the things that will keep them just that way: healthy and happy.

For most of us, posting on Facebook that little Tommy has a fever or has strep throat is something we do to invoke sympathy and prayers from others. We rejoice when they are well again, when the antibiotic bottle is empty, and they’re back to normal. But for so many parents, just like you, that one fever or trip to the doctor turns into something frightening and life-altering in the blink of an eye. We all hope and pray that it doesn’t happen to us or our children, and when we hear about a child who has cancer or some other serious illness, we push those thoughts to the darkest corners of our minds with a shallow sense of thankfulness that it wasn’t our own child.

A Reminder to Be Grateful for Health

Today, right now, millions of children are sitting in hospitals across the world, sick. Every day, children become ill or die from illnesses that cannot be cured. It seems somehow unjust that there are children fighting illnesses such as cancer, which do nothing more than rob these angels of their childhood. There are children born with birth defects, those who cannot walk, and many who are mentally challenged in one way or another. And alongside these children are parents just like you—parents who thought it could never happen to them or who never allowed their minds to go to a place as dark and dismal as imagining their child becoming ill.

It is very sad. However, it is also a gentle reminder to always feel grateful for the healthy children in your life. When you see them running around, playing, living a completely normal life, playing sports, and getting into trouble at school, it is a bright reminder that your child is healthy. Certainly, you cannot live your life as a parent on the edge of your seat, constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. But you should do your best to always find a place for gratitude and thankfulness that your child—and you—have been blessed with health.

Health is more important than money. More important than a lot of gifts under the tree at Christmas time. Health is something that so many of us take for granted until we’re forced to reckon with it. And the health of your child is something that you’ve thought about as a mother since the moment you found out you were pregnant. When you first delivered, you checked his or her ten toes and tiny fingers. You waited for the doctor to say that everything was perfectly okay and normal, and you felt immensely grateful that you were one of the lucky ones to give birth to a healthy child.

Your child grew up, and with every bump or boo-boo, fever, or sore throat, you worried, then felt immediately grateful when your child was okay in a few days’ time. But after an illness is over, it’s easy to lose sight of just how blessed you are to have a healthy child, especially when there are so many in this world who are not.

It is important to teach children to respect their health and their happiness. Praying for others who are in need, taking time to do things for children who are less fortunate, and saying a daily—even if silent—thank you that your child is healthy are important parts of motherhood that you should never forget to do. When your child is driving you to the brink of insanity, and you think you cannot take another minute of their backtalking or whining, remember that they are healthy and that you are lucky to have these opportunities to discipline them.

It can be too easy to take health for granted.

Being thankful for the healthy children in your life is extremely important. Being a mother is not always easy, and there are so many times that you will lose sight of what is really important. You shouldn’t feel guilty about this, as it’s simply part of life. But do take the time to be grateful for all the things that you do have and all the ways that your children bless your life. There are many people in this world who would trade places with you in a heartbeat, given the opportunity.

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One Response

  1. This article is what I was needed to read! You said everything I haven’t been able to put into words! Thank you!! I cry every night as I hold my one year old. Thinking about all these children with brain cancer dying daily.

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