This is a week for exploring the power of gratitude.
As a pastor, consider some of the many ways that members of your family support you in your ministry. Let me suggest a few ways just to trigger your own memory. Far more frequently than most members of your congregation, your spouse and your children are present in worship and many of the other activities of the church. They are frequently your chief support group when you need emotional nurture. They are often worker-bees when you need an extra pair of hands. They are often the ones that make the sacrifice when you are called away to attend a member of the congregation. They can be hurt when they hear someone criticizing you. They feel the pressure from the fish-bowl reality of your life.
You could add many more in your specific situation. Now here is your assignment. Think about a specific way that one of your family members has been helpful or supportive of you. Write that person, an individual member of your own family, a personal note of thanks.
If you would do that occasionally and, depending on which member you choose, provide a small appropriate gift, you would be surprised what that would do for the whole family.
