Guilty. I confess that often I overlook the gift of gratitude.
“Where are the avocados?” I asked hubby as I emptied the grocery bags on the kitchen counter.
“OOPS…I knew there was something I forgot,” he said.
Forgot? He knows life isn’t life for me without my green, delicious friends in my salads.
As a gentle complaint was about to slip out of my mouth. I changed. I made a U-turn of my thinking. Instead, as I put items away, I gather thoughts of gratitude—thank you God for this fruit. Thank you for my Ezekiel bread. Thank you for this quinoa, for this kale and peaches…
Then the doorbell interrupted me. “Hey!” I said to the neighbor as I opened the door.”
She placed a heavy plastic bag in my hands. “More avocados from our tree. They’re all yours.”
A smile came to my heart. Of course, how can I forget? The secret to a lovely life is simple, pure gratitude.
If you haven’t mastered it, here are five ways gratitude can impact your day:
1. Changes the focus.
2. Calls upon the power of God to take over.
3. Cancels the negative.
4. Creates a new perspective.
5. Covers frustration.
For Jesus, gratitude is huge. Do you remember when He healed ten men who had leprosy? “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:16-17)
Father, help me be the one who does remember to thank you, to appreciate the details, the good, the insignificant and the small in my life. May I live a life rich with gratitude. In Jesus’ name, amen.
• What are you grateful for these days?
• Does God know you appreciate His blessings?
• What can you change from disappointment to gratitude?
Janet P. Eckles
