Gratitude Is The Attitude

 Enter in the season of thanks-giving. So we think. The harvest themed decorations come piling out. We pause and are grateful. But what about the rest of the time? Why only one day to count our many blessings? I think of all of the people who will gather across the nation and celebrate the upcoming day with food and festivities. But is anyone actually living in a constant state of joy-inducing gratitude? Is this a daily practice for us? 

 Sometime ago, I made the choice to begin searching, keeping my eyes open to the many ways in which He shows His love. I found myself amazed that the simple act of looking for His demonstrations of grace could result in so much happiness. That I could discover Him hidden in the small things…the things which point to a redemptive hope and a God too good to fail me.
 The giving of thanks became a lifestyle. The counting of blessings became a daily habit. A need actually. Because I see now that when I forget and cease to praise, when I turn away and stop looking, self gets in the way. I lose sight of Him. I begin to feel the darkness close in. Confusion and chaos rule the heart. The lifeline is keeping the gaze heaven-ward. The soul was made for One and One only. We were created with the capacity to know and understand Him. And why should I…how can I…forget such a blessed truth?!
 He deserves my thanks. I need to offer up my praise. Because He is glorified and I am released from self when I do so. Making gratitude my attitude aligns me with Him. Makes me see this as His world and me as simply as small humble partaker of it. Every gift that I have in this life is only on loan to me from above. Every breath that I take, every moment in my life-story, is an opportunity to return the love. To lay down my own will and accept the beauty of His.
 So why not enter in the season of thanks-giving every day? Why simply stop when the turkey has come out of the oven and the meal has been eaten and the football games are over? Why stop there? Why not continue? Why not keep searching? Why not keep pursuing the journey of grace and in so doing, discover the thousand little ways that He speaks His hope to my heart?!