Gratitude

By Terry Wardle

Gratitude. That is a word the Lord spoke into my heart this past summer. It seems obvious that a follower of Christ should live a life of gratitude. After all, Jesus has given us such wonderful gifts. And he continues to do so every day. Both common and special grace is poured out upon us, and if we look, even difficult days give room for some level of honest thanks.

But I must admit that prior to this word being spoken into my heart this summer, gratitude did not come to mind as regularly and quickly as it should have. I am not saying I was ungrateful, for I was not … at all. Certainly, if asked, I would honestly and enthusiastically give thanks for many wonderful graces of the Lord given to me. But I wasn’t being consistently consciously grateful. Busy, with my head down working for the Lord, I somehow missed the many daily gifts, the serendipities, that rested upon my daily coming and going. And in missing them, did not stop and say thanks to Him nearly enough. And in not saying thanks, missed an opportunity for connection with the Lord and for deeper formation of my own spiritual development.

Hmm. That old gospel song comes to mind. “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” Sounds like a call to make every day a day of Thanksgiving.