The original Space Between Raindrops began three years ago as a way to journal our family’s encounter with the Gratitude Rule
Gratitude has become a driving force in our lives. Today we are Grateful For…….
Today I am Grateful for… Pizza Day
Today I am Grateful for…The library has my book and I know who has it signed out 😉
Today I am Grateful for….Hanging out with Haliegh
Today I am Grateful for…. Winter is back
Today I am Grateful for….Back to school, back to dinner & cold medicine
Backstory about the Gratitude Rule:
Our family, like many I have discovered, was growing into a heightened state of negative thinking; negative reaction, negative opinion, negative action. Teenagers, long work hours and social pressures were all contributing, creating a breeding ground of contempt for optimism.
After months of struggling against the storm I decided one evening to embrace it. To recognize that misery, conflict and misfortune were raining down upon us. “Into every life a little rain must fall” right? But rain doesn’t just spontaneously douse us, it falls drop by drop. There is space between those drops where the air is dry and hints of sunshine can be felt if you focus on it. So that’s what we did.
I made a rule; the “Gratitude Rule”. Every evening with our meal right after grace and before the first morsel is consumed, everyone must have a “Gratitude”, something positive to note from the day.
It can be anything… and on those particularly horrid days it has been as simple as “I didn’t run out of gas on my way home from work” or “my favorite shirt was clean this morning.” Some days the Gratefuls are huge and can’t be contained, sometimes there are two or three from a single person. The only rule is; you must have one and everyone seated at the table must participate, even if it is your boyfriend’s first time having diner with your insane family.
The Gratitude Rule has become the strength in our daily lives a powerful force in transforming our family and our individual lives. To be quite honest since instituting the rule nothing has been the same… Gratitude for that!
Space Between Raindrops 