Its a funny thing. We seem to think that something really big has to come out way in order to be grateful. But the truth is, that if we wait for the big thing, we will forget how to be grateful. I believe in a loving God, so that is how I will frame my words, but feel free to insert whatever your understanding is. That said, here is my take on gratitude.
God gives us a gift, maybe it is a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Maybe it is a particularly sweet and juicy peach. Maybe it is a hug and a kiss from a small child. We take the gift and enjoy it. But we kind of take it as our due, like we deserve it. And He gives us another gift, like a job promotion, or we discover a talent for something that will help us support ourselves and our families, and we pat ourselves on the back for how smart, determined, diligent we are. And that does have some part in it, but the fact of the matter is whatever smarts or talent we have is a gift from God... without Him, we would be nothing... we are expected to take part in our lives, to be willing, hardworking participants, but His gifts are behind it all...
Back to my theory. So for a little while, He keeps giving us gifts. And we in our little egocentric worlds, forget to say thanks... so maybe He decides to let us see what it would be like without him... and we blame bad luck or what ever... and things can be bleak until one day we wake up and say" Wow, did you see that sunrise? It was amazing!" And God says, "Hey, I think they get it" and gives us more. And we become more grateful for these things and realize how blessed we are by the hotdogs for dinner and the wood to burn in the fireplace for heat, and the great magazines a neighbor passed along. And we begin to share ourselves with others... and God gets really happy about that and sends more goodness our way....
God made us in His image, and so I would imagine that some of how we think must come from that same source. I mean if you were giving someone gifts all the time and they never seemed to appreciate it, would you continue to lavish stuff on them, or would you let them fend for themselves for awhile? And when you do something small for someone and they thank you and let you know how appreciated it is, aren't you just so much more inclined to do more for them?
I feel it is the same way with God, He just wants us to acknowledge His Prescence in our lives, and the more we acknowledge, the more he will give. Now don't get me wrong here, I am not saying He will make us rich in money and possessions, though He might. I am saying that we will find that our lives are rich in love and knowledge and peacefulness and joy. That we will find that we have enough, maybe even an abundance of these things.
Even in living with less there is much to find to be grateful for. We can be grateful for simplicity in our lives, for a lack of many meaningless decisions... with less in our closets, what to wear is less of a chore, there is less laundry to pile up, we don't become slaves to our wardrobes, or gadgets, or 'toys' or whatever. With less money to spend on groceries, we take pains to make smarter choices and eat more healthy foods. With less money to spend on entertainment, we rediscover favorite old movies, and have time for family game nights. Or even just to sit together and talk for awhile. We learn to appreciate the simple joys.
All too often, I think, we forget that every good thing in our lives comes from God. He plants the seed, and it is up to us to nurture and feed and water it. He gives us the beginnings, it is up to us to see things through. Our gratitude , or lack of it, is a huge factor in all this. Sometimes our dour moods prevent us from seeing the good things we have. Like when we have a headache, and even the most beautiful music, or laughter of children, is just clanging to us. We chose to be grateful for our gifts, or to be spoiled children who only want more and think we can't be happy without it.
I hope that others will join me in my quest to become more grateful for all the things we have , to be more aware of the beauty around us and the many gifts we all possess and have just taken for granted. Let's all learn to enjoy our bounty and stop wanting more, bigger,better. Let's start today!
True
Lifetime
