A lot of times as parents we say to our kids; “Put yourself in their shoes.” What we are wanting our kids to do is to think about a situation from someone else’s perspective. This is a skill that I want all of my kids to be able to do. If we can truly think about issues and situations from someone else’s perspective I think it will help us become more compassionate and empathetic people.
During this time of year as we purposefully take time to be thankful, the thing I find myself being most thankful for year after year is my family. My wife, kids, mom, dad, siblings, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Family has always been a huge part of my life and I really do not know anything different. As I find myself being so grateful for the family I have, I cannot help but think of the children who do not have it as fortunate as I did. There are over 400,000 children in the US in foster care and I find myself asking “What do these kids have to be thankful for?” I serve as the CASA for 28 children in our county and I so badly want each and everyone of these kids to have a home and family that they too can be thankful for.
I love it that National Adoption Month and Thanksgiving share the same month because the more I find myself being thankful for all the blessings I have in my life, the more motivated I am to want those same blessings for the lives of children everywhere.