Grateful

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.                1 Thessalonians 5:18

We are grumblers by nature.

You head out the door to work, only to find a flat tire on the car. You’re already running behind schedule and now this! Your boss is not going to be pleased when you’re late for work-again.  You try your best to change the tire without getting dirt on your work clothes but somehow you manage to get a black streak of ‘something’ on the cuff of your white shirt. Ugh! The grumblings grow deeper. Your thoughts turn negative. In your mind the whole day is ruined. Stupid flat tire!

 Your spouse pops her head out and asks how you’re doing. In an instant hurtful words escape your lips and land on the shoulders of someone you love. Now there is guilt along with your grumblings. This day is getting better by the minute.

Life’s problems don’t get much smaller than this…. It’s a flat tire… In the scheme of things it seems so small...

 And yet, we fall into that ‘poor me’ of wallowing. (Believe me, I’ve wallowed plenty. It’s not a fun place to visit) Grumbling causes us to see what we want to see and not the reality of what is. The more we grumble, the more destructive our attitude becomes. We grumble when we feel like we deserve more than we’re getting. Or we get something we didn't deserve. And who is it that decides what we ‘deserve’? You? Your kids? Your boss? Society?  

We develop tunnel vision, only focusing on what we wish we had and simply overlooking and forgetting what we do have. We forget to be grateful. We forget the many times we received gifts from God and didn’t ‘deserve’ it. God gives us far more than we will ever deserve. Be grateful.