LIFE As I Know It : Gratitude

Recently I was listening to a sermon online, as the speaker spoke on the subject, "Be Anxious for Nothing." As a woman, my thoughts can so often swing to worry rather than trust. As the speaker brought out in his message, take your worries and anxieties to Jesus in prayer, and in turn you will have peace . . . the peace OF God. He closed his message with a verse in I Peter 5, "Cast your anxieties (cares) on the LORD." He went on to say that this "cast" was the same word that was used for the action of the sailors in the book of Acts when Paul was aboard the ship and a storm came up. In order to lighten the ship, they threw (cast) their cargo overboard. The speaker ended with these words, "We can't simply throw our cares away unless we have a God who can shoulder them for us. And we do." What power behind those words! Wow.

But an overall point of the message that really stood out to me was the word gratitude. The speaker discussed how your prayers should be overflowing with gratitude--begin with gratitude, have gratitude throughout the prayer, and end with gratitude.

Is gratitude a big part of my prayers?

I need more gratitude in my life. I need more gratitude in my prayer life. Gratitude for who God is, gratitude for the attributes of God, gratitude for what God does for me and what God has given me. I am grateful for each breath that I take, each moment that I am alive. I am grateful for each opportunity God places in my life to bless others. And I am grateful for my family.

We had a wonderful weekend with my family in Kenora. On the way home my husband said to me, "I love being with your family. Feelings are just out there and everyone is in tune with their feelings and it allows me to feel more in tune with the group as a whole. No one is stuffing something inside. It's so freeing to be yourself. It makes weekends together enjoyable, fun, and easy. It's a safe place to be because hurts never get big before they are talked about." As Eric spoke, his words hit me. It can be so easy to just take my family for granted. Yet, God's calling me to be grateful. And so my heart is overflowing with gratitude today towards my God who has blessed me with such a close-knit, wonderful family. I'm grateful for the "safe place" my family provides. I'm grateful for parents who love me, who put so much time and energy into me as I grew up, and who still invest so much into my life. I'm grateful for siblings who are my best friends. I'm grateful for my husband's insight and words that so often help me to see things in life and in my family that I tend to take for granted. And most of all I'm thankful I have a God who deserves ALL my gratitude!

Today I'm grateful for the gift of family.

tennis matches . . .