Gratitude

Several years ago, I took my girls to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for a small weekend trip. I hardly ever went anywhere that was far from home alone with my kids, so this particular trip was a treat for us. After lunch, the girls and I went out window shopping and I came across this wooden plaque that said, “What if….you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” Rarely do I see something that stops me and instantly makes me have a reaction that seemed to target every single emotion in my body. This did exactly that.

I am good, usually, at thanking God for giving me healthy and happy kids. That is the only thing I could consistently say I was “thankful for” when I prayed. I am human. I fail to remember everything I should be grateful for because like everyone else living, we tend to take most things for granted. But this sign, shook me to my very core.

What would you have today if you woke up with only what you thanked God for yesterday?

Well, that day I was jolted back to reality. My two girls who are, thankfully both healthy and happy, would have had a hard time getting home. It was doubtful I remembered to give thanks for the car I owned. I don’t know where we would have lived because the house we lived in, I usually complained about (due to flooding and a garbage landlord who wouldn’t fix anything) rather than showing appreciation that I had a home. We probably would have been very hungry because I doubt I offered my thanks for the ability to afford to feed my family three meals a day. And speaking of what I could afford, it was highly unlikely I was grateful for the money I was making at a job I had grown to hate, even though it paid my bills.

While I am not a perfect example of a Christian, I hope I am an example of an imperfect person who tries to do the best she can, even when she falls short. I don’t always wake up and say “Thank you Lord for another day with my family and to do what your will for me in this life is,” but I try to do it more often than not. And I should be a lot more thorough when I pray about things I am thankful for. Sometimes during the day, I randomly acknowledge my blessings-A gorgeous sunset, a nice conversation, fresh air, learning to not “need” to control things that I have no control over, etc. For logic, love, heartbreaks, lessons, my career, the ability to walk, hope, groceries, my home, my car, our marriage, my family…..all the little pieces of things that went wrong so that my life could eventually be right….I am thankful.

Alexander Pope said, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” To err is human, alright. I still get in a hurry and don’t pray with as much gratitude as I should. Sometimes I get busy or am just exhausted and shamefully, sometimes I don’t always pray at all. I get convicted now when I don’t. I think that’s how we know that God is working on us and in us. And I thank God that he is. I brought this sign home that day, and it has been a focal point in every place I have lived since. It is, and I imagine that it will always be, one of my favorite decor items in our home. Not because it’s flashy or fancy, but because of the lesson it taught me that day.