Gratitude frees us to enjoy life and opens our eyes to blessings we would otherwise miss.
I remember being out with my two children when they were still infants and one of them spitting up on my white blouse. My husband and I had waited so exceedingly long to have children that I was thrilled about the event! While the mess may have been an aggravation to some, for me it was a badge of honor!
Those nights when my child cried out, I rushed into their rooms to comfort and care for them. Rocking them back to calm sleepiness, I thanked the Lord for the privilege of being able to answer a child’s cry.
Having visited villages in Central America, I know the poverty in which many families live. I have seen hungry children wait for a bowl of food but refrain from eating everything to carry food home and share it with others in their family. I have seen homes made from pieces of plastic, scrap wood, and aluminum, and I have seen children wrapped in filth, wearing rags because there was no water to bathe, wash, or drink. Such things changed me. If I catch myself mumbling about daily household tasks, I stop and thank God for the food I can prepare for my family, a floor that gets dirty but is not dirt itself, and easy access to clean water to drink as well as use to clean all the other blessings God has given to me.
For all those who are followers of Christ, one of God’s gifts that He desires our heart to grasp is the spirit of thankfulness. Approaching life with thankfulness will make a tremendous difference in what you experience now and what you dwell on later.
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NASB)
