Gratitude, an essential component to a Joyful Life
Greetings,
Recently I was at a meeting at a friends home. She had just purchased the home and was telling me about some of the challenges she had with closing on the house and how she decided to surrender and not worry about it with the knowing that if it was meant for her to have the house then she would. After listening to what she shared I said “well when you ask God for a blessing no sense in fretting about it”. My sister friend then replied “I don’t ask God for anything, I just give thanks for what I have”. WOW! Her statement really sat with me. Imagine that! Needing or wanting a new home or anything for that matter for yourself or your family and not asking for it to manifest but praying with gratitude and joy in your heart for what you are already blessed with. I thought to myself what a marvelous lesson. It’s like how can you be given more when you don’t appreciate what you already have? I mean how often do we approach God with our hearts worried, fearful, and burdened? How often do we really reflect on the abundance we already have and become passionate with gratitude for the blessings in our lives? How often are we so focused on what we don’t have so much so that we can’t see clearly all the many things that we have been gifted? A daily practice of “Gratitude Reflection” is the one essential practice to empowerment and living a joyful life. With all the different crisis that we face in our lives, health, employment, spousal, children, financial etc… God ALWAYS gives us a blessing to balance the situation. For example, during my 20 years in healthcare service as a provider I have met many people who were stricken with illness and disease. One situation that comes to mind in particular is a woman I knew who had a full career and her own family to maintain but her dad became ill and she was the only one of all her siblings who was willing to care for him. During their childhood the father was distant, insensitive and unaffectionate. None of his children developed close relationships with him, and in fact they felt like they really didn’t know him at all. The father became terminally ill and this particular daughter moved him into her home and cared for him one on one where she could. After many months the woman and her father developed a relationship that was very fulfilling for the daughter and gave the father a sense of forgiveness and peace in his relationships with his children. With all the pain and suffering this illness brought there was still something wonderful to be grateful for! That is God’s Mercy! May I suggest you take a look at your life, make a list of all the things, people, etc… that you are grateful for. Reflect on this list daily with passion and joy, thanking God for each and every one of these blessings. Let us show appreciation for what you have been gifted, because for every instance of pain, imbalance and suffering we are all blessed with something to be grateful for.
Tags: Add new tag, empowerment, motivation, self help, spiritual, women
