By JODI RALL
In the Bubble columnist
Several of my friends are participating in “30 Days of Gratitude” by posting on Facebook each day something they are grateful for in the month of November. I have enjoyed reading the posts, and today I wanted to share with you a few of my own experiences about thanks and giving.

The first is something I recently experienced at a board meeting for Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. At the close of our meeting we were asked to participate in a “Blessing of Hands” ceremony in the hospital chapel. Each volunteer was asked to come forward and have our hands anointed and blessed by the hospital chaplain. The blessing is something offered to staff twice a year; however, as an affirmation of what the Friends members contribute to the hospital, we were invited to partake.

After the blessing we were given a card and special bookmark to commemorate the blessing. The book mark reads, “Bless you and the incredible work of your hands and life.”

To sit in the hospital chapel brought back many memories as I had sat there several times praying for our son. The chaplain was gracious enough to let me share with the other volunteers about one of those experiences. I am grateful for the giving hearts of the staff at the hospital that care for children and families in so many ways. We should all be thankful that we have a place to take our children where they receive only the best medicine has to offer.

Secondly, I am thankful about how many people here in the Brentwood bubble have giving hearts. From simple acts of kindness to making sure that there will be food on the table for Thanksgiving dinner, people in our community give.

On Friday if you are near the United Way of Williamson County office located near A-Game in Cool Springs, you will see something truly amazing. Basket upon basket will be loaded into cars and delivered to hundreds of families here in our community. The generosity of businesses and individuals, many who live right here in Brentwood, is a sight you need to see.

The first time I experienced the delivering of baskets my heart was overflowing with joy. The care and time people took to make individualized baskets so that a family had all of their favorite things on Thanksgiving moved me to tears. The face of an elderly man I met at the Martin Center will forever be etched in my mind. A mom who had suffered a stroke and needed to care for two young children, these are the faces of people helped.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that one in seven in our state are starving, many are the elderly or children. Never let the facades of large homes and big Brentwood yards fool you into thinking that abject poverty doesn't exist in our community.

Back in 1968 my mother gave me a Hallmark booklet entitled, “A Thanksgiving Book of Children’s Prayers.”  Today as you can imagine that little booklet is worn, but each year I now read these prayers to my own children on Thanksgiving Day.

Lastly, let me take the time to wish for you a life of thanks and giving. Don’t let a day go by where you don’t pause for a moment and think about something you are grateful for. Even in the worst of times, we can change our attitudes if we practice gratitude.