An Attitude of Gratefulness

I haven’t had much time to sit and contemplate. I have all these ideas for writing streaming through my head, but this one has stayed constant. Gratefulness. It is something that I have needed to do over the past few weeks, but last week it became even more apparent. . . I was becoming sad and slightly bitter. Not to say that being sad is wrong. . . it’s just that I was sad for incredibly wrong reasons. I forgot about being content and relying on God’s perfect peace. I was not in control and things were not going according to my plan and in my timing, therefore my attitude was in dire need of a readjustment.

Being grateful is taking the time to rejoice in the little things. It is so easy to forget that we have roofs over our heads, food on the table, clothes to wear, families that love us, and most importantly a God that loves us enough to forgive all of our mistakes (and trust me. . . I make a lot of them!). I am so thankful for all the gifts that God has given me. As I look at all the times that God has answered “no” or “wait” to my wishes and desires, I find that his presence never fails and his love abundant! He is constantly blessing me with gifts. . . no, not gifts as in beautifully, and carefully wrapped presents for me, but blessings that encourage me. . . a kind word, a hug, a smile, and even something unexpected.

So, in this time of waiting I am going to wait patiently with anticipation. God will eventually open the doors in his timing, but until then, I am going to hang out and wait for God’s blessings to shower down and swim in the blessings that already surround me!

Here are some quotes that I found about being grateful:
"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." – Epictetus

"Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road." -John Henry Jowett

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”-Eric Hoffer

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."-The Bible Phil 4:6 NKJV

"If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get." - Frank A. Clark