Blessings and Gratitude

Lately I have been having a tough time with so many things and now I have developed a bad attitude at work. It makes life so much harder if your attitude is bad. It effects everything I do and it seeps out into all my relationships effecting everyone around me. Life is hard enough to deal with sometimes but this makes it much harder. I’ve been praying about it but I realized everytime I think I’ve let it go it creeps back into my life and I realize that I have NOT let it go at all.  A good friend of mine has reminded me that I have a CHOICE how my days go. It’s not up to anyone else it’s up to me. How is my attitude and how am I acting right now.

In a way it’s me having an adult temper tantrum.  I love how God uses people to bring just what you need in your life to remind you of HIs goodness and His gratitude.  God is probably like Sarah I’ve tried so many times to tell you what to do but you don’t hear me. Today in church a woman I’m getting to know comes over to me and asks me how I am. I say I’m ok. She said only ok. I explain some of the things I’m going through. She was very compassionate and caring and said when she’s having a hard time, she carries this rosary in her pocket but she doesn’t use it as that. The cross reminds her to pray and the bumps are a reminder to her the gratitude she has in her life. When her hand goes in her pocket then she’s grateful for so many things.

I thanked her for telling me about this story. I was in church thinking of what I could put in my pocket as a reminder to me what God has done and is doing in my life. I have a rosary that is my father in laws but looks nothing like this one. I put it out of my mind as church had began. After church the same woman came up to me and laid in my hand the cross with the bumps on it. She told me she wanted me to have it. I thanked her so much and asked her if she was sure. She said yes she felt she was supposed to give it to me. Wow! God used this woman to remind me yes of how much goodness is in my life, despite what other things are going on in my life. Thank you Lord for that reminder that no matter what is going on, no matter how hard life seems there is always a blessing and something to be thankful for.

       When I look at this cross I am reminded that I am forgiven for all my sins and God loves me so very much. I’m thankful for my awesome family, my dog Zeke who makes me laugh often, I’m thankful for an incredible church, friends who understand me, sunflowers, horses, a job where I help a little boy make his life easier in this world, I’m thankful for my health, good books that help shape my mind and freedom. There are 10 bumps on the roseary so those are the 10 things I’m grateful for today. Since church today my attitude has changed, because I have now choosen to be grateful instead of poor me attitude. Thank you Lord for bringing Jess to me this morning and she was able to give me the gift of gratitude.

What kinds of things are you grateful for today? How had God used you to help others?