The cursor was blinking back at me for about a minute, and then, I remembered that I wanted to talk about gratitude. November always has a special emphasis on gratitude. It reminds us of how grateful we should be each and every day.
There is so much for which to be grateful. I feel like gratitude often gets bogged down by the latest thing our boss did to make our lives that much harder or some insane daily incident that brings us down. But it shouldn’t.
This morning, I read the following thought in the annual Revive Our Hearts Gratitude Challenge devotional:
“Gratitude is the overflow of a humble heart, just as surely as an ungrateful, complaining spirit flows out of a proud heart. Proud people are wrapped up in themselves.”
I found this to be interesting. And it led me to think about everything I have been so frustrated about or absorbed in. Sometimes, we are so busy looking at how we are treated, wronged or taken for granted, and we get focused on ourselves. And while all of those things hurt or cause pain and are wrong, we can’t change other’s actions. We can only change ourselves.
My friend can’t change how her husband treats her, but she can change herself. I can’t make a person appreciate me, but I can change my reaction.
What does it mean to be grateful in the humble way? The gratitude where we complain less, and we shine, despite thunderclouds around.
I feel like I want to work on that.
And beyond gratitude, it made me think about how many other things in my life that affect me negatively are perhaps on me because of my thoughts turning inward toward myself.
Maybe that’s the root of more
issues, not just unhappiness that stems from ingratitude. What else in our lives would change if we had humble gratitude?
There is so much we have that comes to us as a free gift. Today in church, we spoke about grace.
Grace is such a profound topic that we barely understand in a society where the focus is gaining or things being exchanged.
Sometimes, the first step is slowing down. Slowing way down.
“We are just ordinary people, maybe we should take it slow.” Wise words, John Legend.
Let’s slow down and find out what humble gratitude means. Let’s find out if we have accepted grace and figure out how to regift it.
While this may sound cliché, it’s profound, and I assure you we haven’t mastered it. But we should, and we can.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 