Many of us who claim to be of a higher faith become secretly disgruntled with our Heavenly Father when we do not seem to be showered with the gifts that seem to flow so abundantly into the lives of others when in fact it is a profound miracle that He woke you up this morning when He didn’t really have to! Appreciate this, because the ONLY way to be blessed with the abnormally huge miracles is to be thankful for the ones that we take for granted everyday!
The Rascals – It’s A Beautiful Morning
The homeless man doesn’t complain about the damp garage that someone allowed him to sleep in away from the harsh conditions and predators from the streets. He appreciates the fact that not one drop of rain will hit him, not one rat will bite him nor will he have to sleep with one eye open because someone else who lives in the streets might attempt to steal his meager possessions. He appreciates because he knows how bad it could be…….
The woman who just got hired on a new job doesn’t complain about the low wages, long hours and seemingly endless commute. This lady understands that this humble job is only a small stepping stone in a chain of events that will aid her in their quest for true financial independence and an upward ascenscion into an improved lifestyle. She appreciates the fact that she has a paycheck coming in every two weeks and doesn’t have to borrow anymore. She is thankful that her mind is now being kept very busy instead of sitting at home depressed and idle waiting for the phone to ring. She is overjoyed that while even though she doesn’t earn what she used to she can still slowly begin to banish that pile of bills that has begun to resemble a high rise building on her bedroom dresser. She appreciates because she knows how bad it can be…….
That single mother, we all know her and the struggles that she must endure……she drives an older aged car that draws curious stares and sarcastically motivated chuckles from others who possess those space age newer model vehicles at the red light. They zip off from the light immediately to show how proficient their vehicles are over hers in undeniable act of pure narcissism while her well dented and scratched car labors to pass that very same intersection before the red light catches her there again. She gets through but as she observes the other vehicles lose themselves from her view over the horizon she appreciates the fact that once she arrives to her destination safely, she is just as blessed to have the ability to move about the earth to get her tasks completed without having to be exposed to the dangerous elements of the street. She appreciates the fact that she doesn’t have to wait an entire hour for the bus anymore, suffering and struggling with multiple bags of groceries in her tired grasp while fighting back a call to nature. She is happy for the opportunity to enjoy more sleep because she doesn’t have to wake up as early to go to work now that she can arrive there in a shorter time span. She appreciates because she knows how bad it can be……
I could go on and on with examples of those who may not appear to be at the pinnacle of their existence but do appreciate the reality that they do have. While I am not encouraging one to settle for less and not strive to improve their living conditions I will stress to all that one should appreciate every level of their personal struggle and the gains achieved out of each phase and successive victory there after. How else can one truly enjoy the blessing of a new reality if we take the prior blessings for granted?
Not praising your Creator for all He has done for you is the quickest way to cut any and all good that He has in store for you because there is ALWAYS someone else who is just as needy if not more so and who will appreciate it one hundred fold!
So many of us feel as though progress in our lives is some type of right that we have that bars us from ever have to toil for what we want because we outwardly claim to be righteous individuals.
There is nothing wrong with living a just and righteous life but we need to SHUT UP sometimes and let our actions speak for us instead of trying to bring attention to what should shine from within us so naturally, effortlessly and abundantly!
The same breath, energy and time spent trying to tell the world that you are a Godly person walking a Holy path should be spent PRAISING GOD as this actually tells those around you where your head and heart
resides therefore you wouldn’t have to tell them ANYTHING about your
heart because they already can SEE IT!
The time spent making that phone call to your job on your day off to see if that office troublemaker will get fired for all of the dirt they caused should be spent thanking God that you HAVE a job to have a day off from, a phone that is not cut off from non payment (At least not yet! Lol!) to make a call on and the presence of mind to NOT wake up in a mental institution and being able to navigate this beautiful earth on your own! If this is your dilemma then you need to appreciate what you DO have because you just don’t know how bad it can be!
A man comes from work to a clean home, a nice warm home cooked meal, a peaceful loving atmosphere and the warm embrace of his woman. While he consumes his gourmet grade meal he complains about how she has put on a few pounds and doesn’t look like the woman who caught his eye years earlier when they first got together.
He never thanked her for the years of commitment, dedication and unconditional love that she has so freely given to him even though HE is the one who put on the most pounds and possesses a few parts that hardly ever work as they should for HER satisfaction, but never once did she ever complain night after night as she silently indulged in the sanity preserving ritual of masturbating herself to sleep yearning to be loved and appreciated as the tears of rejection and loneliness flowed freely down her pretty face.
Then one day upon arriving home there was a VERY clean place waiting for him but NO gourmet grade meal to consume, NO peaceful loving atmosphere and NO warm embrace except the cold hard echo of the bare walls and the overwhelming chill and adrenalin rush that accompanies the realization that your woman has left you and that all you took for granted is now gone forever never to return.
You see, appreciation goes a lot further than we can ever imagine and if we took the time to show that we do understand how blessed we are whether it be to your mate for the unconditional love that they give you everyday as an unsung hero in your life, your God for the blessing of that old clunker of a car that still gets the job done to get you around, that generous person who allowed you to sleep in their garage as opposed to being in the streets or just being plain thankful for that job that although barely pays the bills, it pays them just the same!
Be thankful!
Do me a favor and let’s ALL thank our God and everyone in our path today “just because”…….even if it may be hard to find a reason to thank them, thank them anyway! Find something about them that’s pleasing, even if it is a so called enemy THANK THEM TOO for keeping you on your toes.
Thank the young kid who packs your bags at the supermarket everyday, surprise him and give him a ten dollar bill.
Thank that old talkative lady who was recently widowed and is always the last one standing in the church parking lot after service because she is lonely and is going home to an empty house. Take her out to dinner and let her share her stories with you even though you heard them a million times before!
Thank the birds that pleasantly awaken you every morning with the beautiful sound of their song, treat them to delicious bread crumbs and fresh water for they have save you many a morning from being late when that unexpected power outage disabled your alarm clock!
Thank that police officer for the wonderful job that he/she is doing and who patrols your neighborhood while you are safely tucked away at night. It can be a thankless job most of the time and never have I seen an officer whose face doesn’t light up when praised for their sacrifice! Go ahead! It will make their day!
But most importantly we should ALWAYS praise God for He is the source for ALL of the aforementioned blessings and will continue to allow them to flow into your live as long as HE knows that YOU KNOW where they come from!
God is like a dinner host who knows that His guests love the food and continually thank Him for such a delicious meal! You know what? When you thank Him like this continuously He will ALWAYS keep your plate FULL of the good stuff!
Hey, We are no different than God and He is no different from us in that respect, HE LOVES to be praised! Why not? If WE love to be appreciated and we were made in HIS image don’t you think a mere thank you will go far from a mighty being whose very hand shaped the universe that we live in?
Try it sometime, we need to appreciate what we do have because we really just don’t know how bad it could be!
Let me hear from you please…….
