Start With Gratitude and End With Gratitude

Start and Finish With Gratitude
Yesterday, this picture and message was posted on my cell phone timeline by Facebook. FB said this was the first photo I ever uploaded from my phone to FB five years ago today. That made me smile because this is the week of Thanksgiving, and it seems that I was in the gratitude and thanksgiving mode at this time five years ago.

It is a product of our upbringing and circumstances that we are "by nature" either complainers or praisers. Most people would agree that we have a lot to be grateful for. After all, most of us live a lifestyle of conveniences. We live in comfortable homes, wear nice clothes, and have reliable transportation. We have no shortage of clean water or healthy food. We have access to quality healthcare and education, and basically live a good life with a lot of freedom, safety and security.

It’s easy to take these wonderful blessings for granted and sometimes get into the bad habit of focusing on what we don’t have while millions of people around the world live without the basic necessities of life. I remember our missions trips to South Africa, Belize and Mexico, visiting those who lived in small huts and cardboard dwellings with a minimum of conveniences and witnessing children digging for food and anything worth selling in a city dump. Lord, may I remember them, especially when I even start to complain about ANYTHING!

Those without a place to live would love to have a home to clean, yet a homeowner is likely to complain about cleaning their home. Someone without transportation dreams of having a car to drive, while someone who owns a car is more likely to complain about the cost of maintenance and unexpected repairs. It is so easy to forget how blessed we are!

Just think about the blessings we often overlook -- like getting dressed on our own, driving to work, going to the grocery store, sending emails and text messages, and hundreds of other routine activities of life. It’s where the majority of our time goes, so why not learn to show gratitude for them? Choosing an attitude of gratitude not only honors God…it’s good for us!

No matter what, it's possible to BECOME grateful -- even if it's not our natural "bent", but it does take discipline. It's like learning to dance or play an instrument or any habit that is formed -- it takes practice and doing it over and over again. The reality is that a grateful heart will make way for EVERYTHING we encounter to find the good in it, and, best of all, it opens the door for blessings. We just have to replace complaints and fault finding, with praise and thanksgiving. I love Nancie Carmody's thought-provoking words that turn complaining to thanksgiving:
I AM THANKFUL
...for the mess to clean after a party because
it means I have been surrounded by friends.
...for.the taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed.
...for the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means I have enough to eat.
...for my shadow who watches me work
because it means I am out in the sunshine.
...for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that
need cleaning and gutters that need fixing
because it means I have a home.
...for the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
because it means I am capable of walking.
...for my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
...for all the complaining I hear about our government
because it means we have freedom of speech.
...for the lady behind me in church who
sings off key because it means that I can hear.
...for the piles of laundry and ironing
because it means my loved ones are nearby.
...for the alarm that goes off in the early morning
hours because it means that I'm alive.
...for weariness and aching muscles at the end of
the day because it means I have been productive.
-- Nancie J. Carmody