While I was studying education in graduate school, I was inspired by a biography of an influential educator at the turn of the twenty-first century. Mary McLeod Bethune was one of seventeen children born to former slaves. By her late twenties, she had worked diligently to found the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls. She attributed much in her life to thanksgiving. She wrote:
I believe that the thanksgiving which is continually in my heart and upon my lips is the source of my power and growth in personality development. Any time, any place, I can hear myself saying, "Father, I thank Thee," or "Thank Thee, Father"... This is definitely a part of my spirit. To be sure, I have seen trouble, I have had difficulty; the way has not been easy, but I have thanked God and said, "Glory Hallelujah!"