Overflowing with Gratitude

Gratitude: The quality of being thankful.

There are days, when life seems hopeless. When life seems to run over you and you just feel like you can't get back up. That is when you just want to give up. 

It's during the darkest days, when it's easy to forget how much God has already blessed you with. 

Instead of daring yourself to look up, you continue looking down. 

Dare to look up, child. 

Think of your life as a giant puzzle. You are staring at it and cannot even begin to comprehend the whole picture. All the vibrant colors and scenes... Then you see one little piece that looks really bad, and you wonder, "Should I do this puzzle?" 

If you didn't do that puzzle, you would never know how that piece that looked bad fit into your amazing puzzle. Worrying is the opposite of gratitude. 

When you worry, you get so caught up in what MIGHT happen in the future or what you want to get in the future that you miss what is going on today. This moment. Now. 

Worrying isn't gratitude. 

Worrying says, " It's not going to work. You don't have enough. You want more." 

Gratitude says, " This is enough for now. Enjoy it. " 

God doesn't promote worrying. God promotes love. Love leads to gratitude.
When you love someone, you are grateful for them. You are filled with gratitude for them. 

When you are filled with gratitude for one thing, you begin to realize how precious all things are.

Gratitude makes you realize how much you already have. 

Maybe it's not big things you are grateful for. Maybe it is just an old rustic Radio Flyer wagon that holds memories of long walks with your family. Maybe it is just a simple piece of fruit. Maybe it is a smile or a hug from a friend.  

Gratitude might be hard focus on some days, but it is important. God loves it when we take time to recognize the things that he has already given to us. 

It really isn't the big and bold things in life that make the most difference. It is usually just something simple. 

A smile, hug, or a kind word... 

The simplest actions can make the biggest most positive difference in a person's life.

God has blessed you, even when it seems you have nothing. Remember: God has given you the breath of life today! Enjoy it and use it for his glory. God has also given you a purpose in life- until that is done, you will remain. 

Things happen that might not have been your plan. That is when God is usually flipping your life plan upside down and saying, "There, that's better. Look my child!" 

God has a way of doing that. A way of taking our plans and flipping them upside down and saying, " There, that's better." 

A few months ago, I was scared. I was scared that if I tried finding the gratitude in my life, that I would do it wrong. I always wanted to, but I always had second thoughts.... "Maybe I'm doing this wrong. Maybe I'm not really truly grateful for this orange or the grass... That would be lying. Am I grateful for these thing or not? I now I am blessed to have them, but you know, I don't really like oranges and grass is pretty but I hate walking in it. So maybe I'm not really grateful for the grass. Maybe I am just trying to come up with something that I'm thankful for... Ugh, nevermind. I have to think about this more. 

That was my thought process... Every time I found something that I thought I was grateful for, I always freaked out and turned into perfectionist mode. Then I realized.... 

Gratitude. True Gratitude, isn't like that.  Sometimes it is just the simple things. Don't over think gratitude. Recognize things, and then take a moment to imagine your life without them. 

One of the things I don't like about summer is the wasps and the bees. I hate bees. I hate the thought of getting stung. I just don't like them.

Earlier today, I was wandering around outside and I stopped to look at one of the few tulip buds around our house. 

As I was just examining the bud, I looked down and saw this (right). This bee was helpless. It was almost frozen by the cold breeze. It was struggling for survival.

My first thought when I noticed it was, "Squish it!" 

I didn't want it to sting me, not that it could... But IF it just suddenly had strength... I was about to just step on it, when I heard a whisper in my ear. It said, "Stop." 

I stopped. I paused. Still staring at this helpless creature, I started thinking. I started wondering what my life would be like without bees. Not just bees, but maybe the memory that the bee made. I remember getting stung for the first time, by a bee just like this. I cried. I was hurting. Then, I cuddled with a friend who wiped my tears and told me it would be okay. 

Memories like that, with soothing voices and warm cuddles don't just happen. They are usually a result of pain. 

I didn't hurt the bee. Instead I moved it gently underneath a canoe... It was not protected. 

When something painful happens, know and believe that something good will come afterwards.

Just like I had to get stung by a bee first in order to get cuddles next, that is how life is. You will always have pain, struggles, and sadness. But you have a hope. A greater hope.

Knowing that God is in control of your life.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11 

Be grateful that you have a purpose and that God knows the plans he has for you. Be grateful that he is in control. -- When you realize that, then that is when you are overflowing with gratitude towards him. You cannot even begin to express your gratitude towards him. It just overflows... 

Dare yourself to live a different life. Dare to be filled with gratitude...