Yes, Be Grateful! Gratefulness is not something that some people are just born with. It is a decision that we make. It is a state of ‘being.’ I have a friend from Pakistan that was drugged and dragged out of her own home in the middle of the night one night. They planned to kill her because she was a Christian. She and her family had to flee to another country or they would be burned. They ended up having to live in a jail cell for 2 years and all because they had faith in Jesus. She is unable to go back home and live in her own country. If you were to meet her today, Princella is her name, you would never know she has experienced such horrific things.
Because even after all of this, she is so full of joy. She didn’t allow her circumstances to defeat her. God brought her out of that situation and gave her a new country to call home. She is grateful to still be alive. Not only did it strengthen her but it brought her family closer together. She is now working on writing a book so that she can encourage others who may be suffering. Every human being suffers. It is the curse of sin. We can not escape it. But the perspective we choose to have in the midst of our trials, and even after them, determines how we feel.
When we choose to only see the bad, we will feel like the world is against us and we’ll feel hopeless but when we decide to look for the good, that is ‘being’ grateful and our lives will be filled with joy. Choose to believe that this will pass and when it does, you will be stronger and wiser and be able to help others who go through what you’ve been through. “It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful” David Steindl-Rast