“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Everyday Gratitude

I have wondered what living a life of gratitude looks like

I have strived, but I have stumbled and fallen, at times

I want to live so every breath is a gift back to God

For his mercies are new every morning

And want to live life in ways that screams out:

“Forget Not All His Benefits”

It is harder, to find the grateful center in your soul

When you are living through struggles or concerns

And yet, that is where I see God shine through

For it is in the darkness that the light seems to shine so brilliantly

Finding blessings in the storms

Is a gift I feel God has given so abundantly

At every turn in the road, every trial

I see clearly the abundant life God is giving in every moment

Being awake to God’s presence and listening for His voice

Learning like a baby taking it’s first steps to lean and trust

And to truly see every breath, every moment as a gift

Looking at God through eyes of faith

Means tasting the love of God in prayer and presence

And in the inner life finding such joyful surprises.

There are fruits that are blossoming and blooming

There are perspectives that are changing, lives being transformed

There is healing and wholeness

There are dreams that are rehaped and refreshed

And a chance to receive and accept and love what is here

Not what will be in the future

But the gifts of right here, right now.

Somehow God has changed within me gratitude—

Taken the act of not just the spontaneous “thank you” for a gift given

But an attitude of gratitude that is essential to life

Because I am wrapped in His faithfulness that never departs

That is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow

“Thou changest not thy compassions they fail not

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto Thee.”