My Reflections

Thoughts on gratitude

Since November is the month of Thanksgiving, we are writing about gratitude today. There are so many things we can choose to say about gratitude.

Today, gratitude is helping me make it through the day. As we are entering the holiday season, I am struggling a bit emotionally. I am feeling the loss of so many of the people that I have loved in my life, family and friends. It's just not the same without them. Each year, I try to make the most of it. I try to focus on what I have and not what I have lost. Sometimes, this is easier said than done. Just having lost the lady I was taking care of brings all those emotions back to the forefront of my heart.

I have had to say many prayers of gratitude today. I thank God for the time I was able to have with them. I thank Him for what I do have. I try to stay positive.

Gratitude puts things in perspective. It keeps us from taking things for granted. Everything and anything, people and things, that we have today are not guaranteed to be here tomorrow. Life and circumstances can change in a moment.

The Bible tells us we should give thanks in all things. (1 Thes. 5:18) Of course, when I remember that all things work together for my good (Romans 8:28) and that God has only good plans for me (Jeremiah 29:11), then it makes it a lot easier to be thankful when things don't go the way I want them too. Knowing that God has only my best interest at heart makes it easier to be thankful even when things go wrong.