G if for Gratitude





 I don’t think gratitude is something you are necessarily born with, I think it is something we learn. I believe I have learned it through experiences, sometimes in easy ways and sometimes the hard way. When I was young, I use to think being grateful meant everything had to be good, neat, and Pinterest worthy. life quickly humbled me on that one.

 Gratitude is finding things to be thankful for even when life doesn’t look the way you hoped it would. It’s thanking God when you’re stuck in traffic, the plans change and the to-do list somehow grows over night. It’s recognizing blessings that don’t always come wrapped in pretty packages. It’s learning to say “thank you God” not just when prayers are answered the way I want them to be but when they are answered differently. 

I’m grateful for the obvious blessings: family, friends, faith, love, laughter. I am also grateful for the less obvious, or quieter blessings that others may not see or know about. The people that show up without being asked, the strength I didn’t know I had and the grace God gives me daily when I mess up, say or do the wrong thing... which is sometimes often. Gratitude has taught me to slow down and notice what might otherwise be overlooked. It’s the good, hiding in plain sight.

Some days, gratitude looks like joy and laughter other days it looks like endurance, deep breaths and reminding myself not to roll my eyes out loud, haha! Sometimes, gratitude is simply trusting that God is still good, even when life feels unbearable. I’ve learned that gratitude doesn’t ignore hardship, it sits beside it and says “there is still good here”.

As I continue this A-Z journey, I’m realizing that gratitude isn’t just something I feel, it’s something I practice. It’s a choice, it’s something I try to look for in every situation. Gratitude helps me keep my eyes fixed not on the negative or what is missing, but on the goodness of God  who somehow manages to meet me right where I am, sarcasm and all.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

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