Learning How To Be Grateful

After we toured the senior living home, the director gave us a book. It was called The Wisdom of Gratitude, created and published by the facility. The flyleaf reads: “With The Wisdom of Gratitude, we invite [the residents] to access their enormous capacity for thankfulness and see their lives grow richer and more fulfilling in the process.

Saying yes to gratitude is all about finding the right perspective. “It isn’t dependent on a person, place or thing, nor is it dependent on how much you have or don’t have. It’s all in how you perceive it,”18 continued the introduction. And the reader/resident is allowed to contemplate, journal, and express gratitude by taking positive action.

Tatiana Dennings wrote, “If our gratitude level is low, we may take things for granted and lack appreciation when life is going well. Then, when life hits a rocky patch, we may focus on the problem and forget about the good things.”

It’s good for us to cultivate gratitude every day. Perhaps reciting Psalm 95, verses 1 to 3, is one way to show our thanksgiving: “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” The right perspective is to appreciate life and thank God each day, no matter what!

Reflection:

List some of the ways you show gratitude to God and others.

Application Tip

Send print or digital “Thank You” cards to 10 people and let each one know why you are thankful.

Conversation with God

Lord, help me to live a life of gratitude by learning to count my blessings!

This is an excerpt by Luisa Colllopy from The Garden of God's Grace, available at OMF Lit Bookshops, shop.omflit.com, Shopee, and Lazada for P275.

Imagine Jesus meeting you in this beautiful garden and welcoming you to sit at His feet and tell Him everything – all the thoughts, worries, fears, doubts, and frustrations swirling in your head.

In this devotional, Darlene Sala, Bonnie Sala, and Luisa Collopy share 52 life lessons on how to deal with loneliness, loss, finances, death, and other challenges. Each devotion invites you to reflect, take a positive course of action, and have a meaningful conversation with God. Take some time off from your busy schedule to visit the garden of God’s grace, where Jesus awaits to give you refreshment and encouragement.