Day 23

Gratitude changes perspective

 

 

A few years ago, I read a book by Tricia Goyer called The Grumble Free Year. The concept was to take a year to shift your attitude from one of grumbling and complaining, constantly feeling sorry for yourself, to an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness and seeing the good things in life. At the time, my kids were little, and there was a lot of complaining going on. If it wasn’t a complaint on my part, it was the kids. Since the kids and I spent a lot of time together because I was home-schooling them, there was a lot of grumbling.

 

Honestly, just seeing the title made me conscious of how much grumbling I was doing. And since our kids follow whatever we do, my children grumbled and complained. It was at that moment that it was pressed upon my heart to start the good in things and not complain when things didn’t go my way.

 

In Matthew 15:17-18, Jesus said, “Don’t you realize that whatever goes into your mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, which defiles a man.”

 

What is spoken has the power to shift the atmosphere of the room, change a perspective about a person, and can be very telling about our hearts. If we call ourselves Christian, but we’re always talking negatively and degrading, we are discrediting ourselves and our walk with Christ. But if we speak with thankfulness and appreciation, it is a testament to how we recognize what His salvation has done for us.

 

When we allow our perspectives to change, gratitude comes more freely.

 

For example, I live in Michigan, and most of our trees have dropped all their leaves. I’m not too fond of this time of year, but as I sit at my dining room table and watch the leaves fall like snow, I am reminded of the beauty of the changing seasons. I see the reminder in nature that we will go through moments where everything feels dead. But in my heart, there is peace. Because spring is coming, a new life can be birthed. I don’t look forward to the cold, but there is joy in my heart, knowing that none of this is permanent and God is still working.

 

As you come together with your loved ones or savor a meal in solitude, make an effort to appreciate the blessings in your life by expressing your gratitude to The Father and let perspectives begin to change.

 

 

Melissa Wardwell resides in Owosso, Michigan with her husband and three teen-aged children.

She doesn’t mind alternating between the world of writing and the reality of being a mother, but she would rather sit with a good book or a good friend and a cup of coffee.

When she isn’t penning works of fiction, she is busy reviewing books for her blog, Back Porch Reads.

To see more from Melissa Wardwell, visit www.melissawardwell.com

 

The following Melissa Wardwell books have been published by Celebrate Lit Publishing:

Scrumptious Independence

Heart Pressed

Seasoned Grace

Blended Lives

Delicious Devotion

Keeping Christmas Volume 2

An Unexpected Gift

 

Click here to view this promotion.