“A complaining tongue reveals an ungrateful heart,” said William Arthur Ward.
Don’t we all find ourselves grumbling from time to time, if not all the time? We complain about the weather, the place we live in, our country, the economy, the politicians, people in our family, neighbors, friends, colleagues, bosses, our job, our modern society, and the list goes on. The pandemic Covid-19 hit us suddenly as a global crisis and made things even worse as if it was not enough. More people became sick; many lost their loved ones, others lost their jobs, businesses closed, in some places, there was a rise in violence, rise in thefts, and so on.
Naturally, you would think, “how can we be grateful in this volatile and uncertain world?”
First of all, we need to remember that we are not alone. God is with us. He loves us and cares for us. Psalm 136:2 says that His faithful love endures forever. We can rest in His love and be thankful that we are loved. God will never stop loving us, no matter what. What a beautiful promise! knowing that God, our creator, and the creator of the universe, will always love us and be with us in every circumstance. (Hebrews 13:5)
God will help us if we turn to Him and trust Him. He is our refuge, our fortress, our shield, and our place of safety. (Psalms 18:2). God can provide for our needs, comfort us, renew our strength, send the right persons to help us, and much more. He is not a powerless, weak God. His ways are higher than ours, and his thoughts higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah55:9) As human beings, we are limited, but not God. We can be grateful that we can put our hope and confidence in Him.
It is also important to pause and appreciate what we already have. Be in the present. We can make a list of what we are thankful for, even the small things. They will remind us there is still something good amidst the chaos and can even bring us joy and happiness. It may be as simple as hearing the birds singing, smelling a rose, being with a friend, or watching our kids sleep.
We can be grateful by retraining our mind to see the good in every situation. We need to choose our thoughts carefully. Rather than focusing on problems, we can learn to be more positive, be more open to life’s challenges and use them to grow and be a better person.
Surrounding ourselves with positive and kind people will influence us in a good way. So, we must choose our friends wisely. We can ask God to send the right persons to us.
As long as we are on this earth, nothing will be perfect. There will be challenges, setbacks all along, and as humans, we will make mistakes. But having an attitude of gratitude will help us live life better and be happier. The choice is ours. We can choose to go through our journey with a positive lens or a negative one. Let’s make an intentional effort to appreciate and be grateful for what we have.
If, as a woman, you want to grow in living a life of gratitude, I’d love to connect with you. Book a free discovery session on Cindy@anewforpurpose.com
