I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. Romans 12:3 (The Message)
Recently had an interesting discussion with a client about our viewpoints on gratitude. We sometimes tend to focus on what we don’t have as opposed to what we do have. When we feel victimized or oppressed, we tend to focus on what we don’t have and what others do have. When we are in a state of gratefulness, we recognize what we do have and what others do not have.
In the United States, we possess what a large percentage of the world would literally give their lives to have – freedom, economic opportunity, and a democratic voice in choosing our leaders. Do we have proper gratitude for that, or do we have a sense of entitlement to such blessings?
Tomorrow, I will celebrate, in this space, the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which helped defeat Nazi oppression in World War II. Today, I celebrate with gratitude, all the wonderful gifts that we have that many in the world do not have – the pleasure of knowing political and economic choices.
Let us make sure that we can give those gifts to our children and grandchildren.
Prayer: Lord, we are indeed grateful for the gifts that you so freely bestow upon us, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 