4 Reasons to Start Choosing Gratitude, Starting Today…
It’s easy to get caught up in life, isn’t it?
I’m not talking just the day-to-day busyness of raising a family, keeping a house afloat, and all the other responsibilities we carry. But also in the hard stuff – the stuff no one wants to talk about. The stuff that makes it hard to remember how blessed we really are.
But today? Today, I want to challenge you to live your life – always – with a thankful heart. Be thankful anyway, even especially when it’s the hardest.
Listen. I know how this is so much easier said than done. And if you’re going through a really tough circumstance, it makes being thankful all the much more challenging.
I get it. I really do. I struggle with contentment and being thankful this just as much, if not more at times, than the next girl.
But instead of succumbing to the dangerous trap of ungratefulness, this is when we must fight back. We can’t be stuck here for long. There’s too much at stake.
So friend, I’m going to give you (and myself) a little bit of tough love today.
We need to choose gratefulness. We HAVE to.
Here’s why…
Someone else wants what you already have.
Really let that marinate for a second, okay?
The very thing you take for granted day after day – maybe even the very thing you are resentful of right this minute – is the very thing someone else is desperately praying for.
Wow. Right?
Take a minute to thank God for what you have right where you are.
You are already so incredibly blessed.
Choosing gratitude will realign your priorities.
Something about living with a thankful heart suddenly makes all those things we were worried/anxious/annoyed/angry over suddenly seem incredibly petty and wasteful of the precious, limited time God has given us.
I’m not asking you to downplay your problems. But I am asking you to reassess what’s MOST important in your life.
Choosing gratitude will give you an immediate attitude adjustment.
Like realigning our priorities, being thankful will instantly give you a serious attitude adjustment (gratitude adjustment?).
Will the hard stuff really matter in 5, 10, or 20 years? In most cases, I highly doubt it.
Life could be so much worse. Be thankful for what you have TODAY.
Choosing gratitude will take the focus off of OURSELVES.
Tough love time for you, girl. Ready for it?
If you’re having trouble being thankful, it might be time to take a look at your heart.
Being ungrateful is often a symptom of selfishness, a symptom of our circumstances, or both.
Whether it’s extreme or just humming in the background, when we struggle with being ungrateful we are focusing on ME.
My problems, what I deserve, what’s in it for me. And this, my friend, is the exact opposite of how we are called to live as Christians.
It’s time to take the focus off ourselves and turn it back to Jesus. We aren’t Christ-followers so that we can ask God to wave a magic wand and immediately grant us all our desires.
We follow Jesus because we believe what He did for US. Because we have committed to living our lives out as a reflection of Jesus. Because we have dedicated ourselves to making Him the King of OUR lives, not the other way around.
My guess is that when we take the focus off ourselves and train it on who truly deserves it – Jesus – we will almost instantly develop a thankful heart.
We always, always, always have something to be thankful for.
If you’re going through a super hard time, you might only have the brain power for something small to be thankful for. But it’s there, I promise. Dig deep. Ask God to open your eyes to the blessings you already have in your life.
And my challenge to you today is this: make a list of your blessings. What are you thankful for? Write down as many things as you can think of. Maybe it’s a favorite pair of shoes. Maybe it’s the health of your family. Maybe it’s the fact that you have $5 extra to spend on a Starbucks latte. Whatever it may be, write it all down and add to it each day.
Before you know it, being thankful for what you have will be second nature.
So tell me, what are you thankful for?
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