Got Gratitude?

Gratitude is one of those emotions that you either have or you don’t.  It is defined as

” warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful”

I always try to have a grateful heart.  My day goes better if I can find the good in all things;  if I see the glass as half full instead of half empty, and yet…  I have those days when I have a hard time.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that when I don’t compare myself with others, I have an easier time being thankful.  And when I do compare myself with someone else, I tend to lose my way.  As Teddy Roosevelt was simply stated,

“Comparison is the thief of joy!”

Someone always has more.  They may be smarter, have a nicer house, kids who behave better than mine, appear to have more money, drive a nicer car, be thinner, have less wrinkles, appear to have a better marriage, be married, be single and carefree, and the list goes on and on.

Some people may even appear to have a better relationship with God than me.  They just seem to have it all together while I’m struggling.

With that being said, the Bible tells us in Galatians 6:4 that

“each one should test their own actions.  Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else.

In other words, stay in your own lane and worry about your own actions, your own life.  Keep your eyes on yourself.  

I have noticed that one of the nasty byproducts of comparison is envy, one of the acts of the flesh as found in Galatians 5: 19-21

“…21 and envy;

According to dictionary.com, envy is defined as,

a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc.

Envy is sneaky.  You may be happy for someone who seems to have it all, you just want it also, where as, jealousy is when you don’t want the other person to be happy.   Ouch, that hurt!  But #BraveMama, I have dealt with this in my own life and I  found that when I took this to God and asked God to forgive me and help me, it gave me emotional freedom.  

Helping others is another way practice that helps develop a heart of gratitude.  Just as someone always has more than me, another person has less.  When I concentrate on others, it helps me to keep my eyes off of my problems.  #BraveMama, if you are going through a difficult season, try helping someone else whether it be helping with a task, volunteering, bringing someone a meal, praying for others, or just smiling at the clerk at the checkout at the grocery store.

I find that when I consciously think about being grateful it helps keep my mind focused on my blessings and not on my troubles. When I write down the things I’m grateful for, I find that it helps me to have a grateful spirit.  When I get busy and don’t, the negative things in life tend to crowd in and I tend to lose my ability to be grateful.  I do suggest getting a journal/notebook and keeping a record so that you can go back and remember all the blessings in your life, but you can simply write them down on a sheet of paper or even a napkin.  And there is something about writing things down;  you tend to remember it.

Zig Ziglar so beautifully states that

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”

#BraveMama, make an effort to express gratitude in the small things and before you know it, you will have a grateful heart.