Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
-Melody Beattie
I love that quote. I printed it out to keep on my desk.
There are many different views of reality happening at once. In any given situation, there can be sadness, humor, gratitude or any number of other realities. Gratitude is just one of the realities you can choose. It is a matter of focusing on the reality that lives in abundance.
Gratitude does change things. There is power in gratitude. As I read this quote this morning, I remembered a time in my life where a heart of gratitude changed everything for me. It took me a year to get to this point after a great loss, but when I did the joy that had been missing in my life for over year began to return.
When my brother died I was depressed and angry at what I had lost, but it was when I realized what a gift he was in my life and how I had been blessed to have had him for a brother and best friend that I was able to heal and my joy began to return. Nothing changed but my focus. He was God’s to take home when God was ready to do so, but he was God’s gift to me while he was here. We each could have been in different families, but we weren’t. God chose to give me the best brother ever, the perfect brother for me. I have never had that soul connection with anyone else and may never again. I still miss him so much, but what a gift he was. Gratitude. In everything with praise and thanksgiving. Giving thanks in all things. It can be a hard concept to grasp because it isn’t just a head knowledge. Gratitude must be felt to be real.
While I missed my brother, I found gratitude in having had him in my life in the first place. It wouldn’t have hurt so much if I hadn’t loved him so much. In the end, I had the love, and the love remains. It never dies. And for that I am truly blessed and thankful.
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100:4)
You have turned my mourning into dancing for me;
You have put off my sackcloth
and girded me with gladness,
To the end that my tongue
and my heart
and everything glorious within me
may sing praise to You
and not be silent.
O Lord my God,
I will give thanks to You forever.
(Psalm 30:11-12, AMP)
Peace.
