Over and over I marvel at the blessings of my life: Each year

"Over and over I marvel at the blessings of my life: Each year has grown better than the last." In this radiant reflection, Lawrence Welk, the humble son of immigrants who became a beloved musician and television host, reveals the power of gratitude and the vision of a life lived in constant appreciation. His words are not merely about personal success, but about the ability to marvel—to stand in awe at what life has given, even when born of modest beginnings. To marvel is to remain childlike in wonder, never allowing the passage of time to harden the heart.

The origin of this gratitude lies in Welk’s story itself. Born to German-Russian immigrant parents in North Dakota, he grew up in poverty, speaking little English, working long hours on the family farm. Yet from these simple roots, he carved out a career that would one day bring joy to millions. His life was a testament that hardship can give birth to resilience, and resilience, when guided by humility, can bring forth blessings. Each year became better than the last not because it was free of struggle, but because each struggle carried lessons, and each lesson bore fruit.

History is filled with kindred spirits who embodied this same perspective. Consider Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison, yet emerged with gratitude, declaring that his suffering had prepared him to serve his people. Though his years were marked by pain, each one, in hindsight, grew into something greater, shaping him into the leader the world needed. Like Welk, Mandela saw his life not as a sequence of burdens, but as a journey of growing blessings. The key was not the absence of trial, but the presence of gratitude.

Welk’s words remind us that to marvel at blessings is to actively choose wonder over complaint, contentment over envy, and reflection over forgetfulness. Many live their lives always yearning for what is to come, blind to the good already in their hands. But to pause "over and over," as he says, is to train the soul in gratitude, to rehearse thanksgiving until it becomes the rhythm of one’s existence. In doing so, each year does indeed seem better than the last, for gratitude multiplies what it beholds.

There is a profound spiritual rhythm here. Each year carries joys and sorrows, triumphs and losses. To the ungrateful, time may seem like a thief. But to the grateful, time becomes a gardener, planting blessings with each passing season. Welk’s marveling reflects this truth: he saw his years not as diminishing, but as ripening—like fruit growing sweeter with age. Gratitude transformed the ordinary march of time into a symphony of ever-increasing beauty.

The lesson for future generations is clear: the path to joy is not to demand a life free of hardship, but to practice gratitude so deeply that even hardship becomes a stepping stone toward growth. If you learn to marvel at small blessings, you will be prepared to receive greater ones. If you see each year as an opportunity to grow in wisdom and love, then no season will feel wasted, and every passing year will indeed grow better than the last.

Practical action flows from this wisdom. Begin each day by recalling at least one blessing—be it the breath in your lungs, the love of family, the chance to labor, or the lessons of yesterday. End each year by reflecting not on what you lacked, but on how you grew, how you loved, and how you endured. Teach your children not only to seek blessings, but to marvel at them, to pause long enough to let wonder sink in. In this way, life itself becomes a hymn of thanksgiving, rising higher with every passing year.

Thus, Welk’s words shine like a timeless song: gratitude transforms life into a marvel, and time into a friend. To live in such a spirit is to walk through the years not with dread, but with joy, discovering that, indeed, each year can grow better than the last when seen through the eyes of thanksgiving.