An attitude of gratitude.
I have a habit of repeating those four words. A lot.
They aren't my words. In fact, I don't know whose words those are. They sure do resemble some of God's words. "Give thanks in EVERYTHING," are words from His book. Paul writes about trials and sorrow being considered pure joy...because contentment is found in Christ alone.
I throw these words around like I own them: "Let's start every prayer, every day, every thought with an attitude of gratitude." I'm not saying them for teen girls or my friends or my family.
I. Am. Saying them. For. ME.
That's right. I'm selfish. I like stuff. I get caught up in worldly desires. I want, want, want. All the time. I justify. I cave in to my children's begging and their desires. I honestly believe things like, "If we just had more....," "We will give _________(fill in the blank) as soon as we make $__________(fill in the blank," "We would ___________(fill in the blank) if we could, but clearly we can't."
On top of all that, I whine about bad days, complain about my kids, have secret desires that my husband would make more, do more, make less, do less (circle one or two, depending on my mood that day).
You see, my heart is not pure. In fact, God says my heart is "deceitful above all things," from Jeremiah 17:9. Can you believe it?
So I must CONSTANTLY remind myself to be thankful. Always. Every moment of every day.
Because I have so, so much to be thankful for — great health, food three (or more) times every day, a roof over my head, a van to get me where I need to be, wonderful friends, the most amazing husband and two children who weren't supposed to be born. I have abundantly more than I deserve.
For two and a half years, I lived a VERY UNGRATEFUL life. I couldn't get pregnant, and then I was told the odds that I'd ever have a child were quite small. Maybe about 5 percent.
Back then, I was starting to think again maybe God was real. I had been raised in the Lutheran faith, churched my entire childhood and then convinced throughout my college years and early career that there was no God. High school friends had planted seeds of doubt, and liberal professors sowed them. I was cultivating the ideas when I met my husband. We were both highly doubtful, to say the least.
We were desperate, though, when we wanted to have a baby. And so we asked for prayers. Our names were added to prayer lists. Yet, we never prayed.
But you see, God loves us so much that He gives us exactly what we need when we need it. He answered the prayer we never prayed, and He gave us Abby. And then even more miraculously, He gave us Ryker. Undeserving, unbelieving sinners. He answered. He gave. Because He loved.
Those answered prayers led us to the town where we live now, to the church where we were born again, to the life God wanted for us, to a place where we would seek Him and walk in His will.
He is so very wise.
There are prayers He is answering on our behalf from others that we don't even know about. There are ways He is moving because of His love for us. He is almighty, omniscient and omnipresent.
For that, I must respond with an attitude of gratitude. For all I am and all I have, I owe to His great mercy and grace.
Daily it is my pleasure to thank Him. I do so by choice, a free will that He bestowed on me, and I'm not under any obligation. I thank Him because I love Him. I love Him because He loves me.
My attitude of gratitude is a song of praise to the heavenly King! Singing it brings me great joy.
“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
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