gratitude attitude.
10 Jan 2011 11 Comments
in life abundant., made to crave, one word 2011: truth, taking care of self & one another
would y’all pray for my friend kim? her dad was rushed to the hospital today.
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i had a great conversation this morning with someone i respect and whom i believe also respects me. in fact, i know she does. we were talking about attitudes; attitudes of entitlement, those of self-pity, and the most important one: an attitude of gratitude.
i don’t think gratitude is something that can be taught, except by example. reminding someone to say ‘thank you’ doesn’t mean that person will truly become thankful. telling a group to show greater appreciation to those that serve them only has the potential to make those folks feel small and placated. either you have a grateful heart or you do not. i think you can get one if you don’t presently live this way, but it takes the great spiritual discipline of ‘fake it til you make it’ until it seeps in to your system as a way of thinking, a way of life.
according to webster, gratitude is the state of being grateful : thankfulness
i can’t think of anyone who lived in a greater state of gratefulness than my granddad. always, always, ‘thank you, jesus.’ can’t sleep? ‘thank you, jesus.’ car ran out of gas? ‘hallelujah, lord.’ missed a flight? ‘praise you, father.’ ‘granddaddy, i need some money.’ ‘oh, bless you, lord.’
i have hoped that i would be that grateful, that my natural inclination in all things would be, ‘thank you, lord.’ truth: as it is, i have to remember to say, ‘thank you’ to the teller at the bank. or to the cashier at the grocery store. or to the person holding the door for me. truth: i love hearing ‘you’re welcome’ as much i appreciate ‘thank you’. i think ‘you’re welcome’ bears its own significant weight (even more than ‘no worries’ or ‘no problem’).
but his was a gratitude that was so much deeper than just good manners. it was, simply, a state of being grateful.
i would think it would be weird to toot your own gratitude horn (like talking about how humble you are), so i just want to issue a rhetorical challenge to ask and allow god to give us each a more grateful heart.
{let the message of christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the spirit, singing to god with gratitude in your hearts. -col 3:16 (niv)}
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made to crave update: between now and the end of february, beauty for ashes is hosting a book study for made to crave by lysa terkeurst. a different blogger will be featured every friday to offer their thoughts and personal experience from that week’s chapters and will begin the discussion. if you are interested in contributing as a guest-blogger as we study this book, please let me know! this week we are reading the introduction – chapter two (and will continue reading three chapters a week). join us for the discussion, starting this friday. for those going the extra mile, lysa is hosting a webinar for the next six weeks starting tonight. i hope it remains available for about 24-hours. as it is, i have my own very important standing forum that meets on my facebook page on monday nights…
Jan 10, 2011 @ 15:30:26
I think have a grateful spirit is way different than a thankful one. We can say thankyou for the scarf, or the meal brought or the card sent in the mail. But to be grateful is a message deeply imbedded in our soul. We are grateful …appreciative and thankful… for a new day, a friendship kept, a loved ones hug. Thankful ness to me can be moved by emotion of the moment gratefulness is a ‘knowing’ always. I am truly grateful that today I woke up feeling good and life is good and the sun is out and GOD I will give thanks with a grateful heart.
Does this make sense?
Jan 10, 2011 @ 15:34:14
beautifully said, sharon. i think that was the point i was trying to make between having good manners v. a grateful spirit, but you said it much better than i did. thank you, sharon! xo
Jan 10, 2011 @ 17:25:07
For me, being grateful or thankful begins with being humble. I find, for myself, that expectation gets in the way of true gratefulness and thankfulness. If I have no expectations of a situation I can be thankful and grateful. This can be difficult to manage for me in some relationships and requires a lot of work on my part to be humble. If I ever get there, that is.
Steph
Jan 10, 2011 @ 22:17:09
love you.
xo
Jan 10, 2011 @ 19:36:09
Something a friend of me told me once (I don’t know where it came from) was this:
Dear God:
For everything in the past, Thank You.
For everything in the future, Yes.
For the stubborn of us (cough me cough) it’s a hard lesson to learn.
Jan 10, 2011 @ 22:16:47
and me.
love this, dominic. thank you.
xo
Jan 10, 2011 @ 21:19:16
Just stopped in to read you…and had to tell you how much I adore you sweet one!! I shrieked when I saw your name on the bloggy list at the end of the webcast for M2C tonight…I said, “Will that’s MK…that’s our table 11 MK!!! She’s so awesome!”
That’s our table 11 MK…how I adore you.
Jan 10, 2011 @ 22:16:26
aw, you are so precious, wendy. thank you!
(i have to confess that i didn’t watch the webcast tonight due to…ahem…’other’…engagements (ie, bachelor) but i will see if i can’t get a hold of it this week.)
love you, sweet sister!
xo
Jan 10, 2011 @ 22:47:44
Webcast replay tomorrow at 3 pm EST.
Much love to you.