When Gratitude Is Lost in the Messiness of Life
Being grateful didn’t come easy and with a deep sigh of surrender, I eased back into the sofa. The joint and muscle pain was just too much. I had hoped for a walk, but once again it would need to be put on hold.
It had been nearly a year since all the pain had started. Since life had drastically changed.
As I sat, thoughts of my son’s similar rapid descent into poor health consumed my mind.
Frustration. Disappointment. Weariness. Concern. Anger.
They were beginning to take over.
Laughter wasn’t a priority.
And gratitude had descended to the bottom of my priority list.
The light of hope that had once filled my heart was barely flickering. And I was allowing it to happen.
(This article was originally published on Her View From Home.)
You see, gratitude and hope are firmly intertwined with each other. One does not exist without the other. So, how could I expect my hope to overflow if I wasn’t looking at life through a filter of gratitude?
You see, gratitude and hope are firmly intertwined with each other.One does not exist without the other. So, how can we expect hope to overflow if we aren't looking at life through a filter of gratitude? Share on XIn all honesty, I didn’t feel like being grateful.
It would mean consciously trading my complaints for praises.
It would mean taking my eyes off the pain, concern, and frustration and placing it instead on the everyday gifts for which I could be thankful. But in that season, through that pain, it felt too difficult.
How about you? Have you ever been there? Or maybe you are there right now? A season where laughter is no longer a priority?
Are you in a season of life where laughter is no longer a priority? And #gratitude is at the bottom of your list with it? #thankful #joy #hope Share on XIf so, friend, I get it. And because I get it, would you allow me to come alongside you for a moment and whisper words of hope?
There’s this amazing thing God does to our hearts and our minds when we look away from the trials and look toward Him. When we take our focus off the difficult and put it on the good.
There’s this amazing thing God does to our hearts and our minds when we look away from the trials and look toward Him. #gratitude #hope #joy Share on XDo not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Phillippians 4:6-8 ESV (bold text my addition)
But How?
One little step at a time. Expressing gratitude for the simple things. The things we often take for granted.
Then in the midst of our gratitude the transformation begins. The good begins to stand out. It begins to hold our attention longer. We become noticers of the good in our lives.
It’s as if gratitude holds a key that can unlock the doors of our hearts, allowing hope access within. As the hope builds, it overflows into our lives overcoming all of life’s struggles.
Without a doubt, some days are harder than others. It isn’t always an easy task to be a noticer of good.
But the truth is that success isn’t found in the easy. The greatest of breakthroughs happen when we push into the difficult by leaning into the strength of God.
Success isn’t found in the easy. The greatest of breakthroughs happen when we push into the difficult by leaning into the strength of God. #gratitude #hope Share on XLean into God’s Strength by Being Grateful
For me, leaning into the strength of God through prayer, reading His Word, and choosing gratitude brought laughter, peace, and hope back into our home. The weight of negativity had lifted and we made the best out of our time stuck on the sofa. We learned what embracing our new normal looked like and committed to living with gratitude even if our circumstances never changed.
In this instance, our circumstances did eventually change.
With the burden of negativity gone and the empowerment of gratitude and hope pushing me forward, I was a Mama able to continue my search for answers. In the peace I’d gained along the journey, I’d begun to listen closer to the wisdom God was giving me.
We found our home of less than two years was riddled with black mold. All the diagnoses of autoimmune diseases were incorrect. Mold was the culprit.
Today we are on the mend and laughter lives again. The road to reconstruction was long and complete healing is still not here. But as this journey has progressed, my commitment has been to not let gratitude slip to the bottom of my list. It means I sometimes have to give myself a swift quick in the gratitude behind, though!
Friends, gratitude is a weapon. In it there is power to conquer the battles of life.
So, let’s do this together! Let’s lean into Jesus, use the weapon of gratitude, and breathe in the hope that is ours to claim.♥
Happy Thanksgiving to each of you! May Thanksgiving mark a new way of living – one where being grateful resides at the forefront of your heart, thoughts, words, and actions. And may you live with abundant HOPE!
Thank you for including me in your roundup Lori. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Wow, wonderful testimony, Lori!
Black mold?! Unbelievable! What an awesome God we serve pointing that out to you. So glad your family is on their way back to good health.
And what an spiritual weapon gratitude is. I’ll have to remember that when I feel overwhelmed preparing Thanksgiving dinner this year. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Choosing to put laughter back in our lives. This is SO important. As the hubs and I age, and find more aches and pains each day to deal with we need to remember to be grateful and laugh about it! I’m interested in hearing more of your story of black mold and the autoimmune diseases it caused. I hope you’ll write a post about it. Or maybe you have?
Thanks for the link up.
Patti
Thank you for adding my post to your roundup. Your journey parallels my own in learning to lean on God as my source of strength and joy in all circumstances (not the specifics of the issue, but the way it affected me and what I learned). Happy
Thanksgiving.
Popped in over at Her View from Home as well — and am always thankful for your God-centric view of your life at home.
Lori, what a wonderful testimony! I have found this to be so true > We must use gratitude as a weapon so we can rise up and breathe in hope. May you & your family have a most blessed Thanksgiving!
I remember the first year after our family splintered, gratitude was hard to find. Slowly I made blessing counting a priority and God used that small change to begin a powerful transformation in me. You’re right, giving thanks always may be one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal. Happy Thanksgiving, sweet friend! Praising God with you, for your restored health! <3
Wow, Lori this was powerful.
Lori this was powerful. I always knew gratitude changed our attitude to positive and helped us smile and get our eyes off our self, but I had never thought about it providing hope. And what we all need is hope. Thanks. If we could all just be grateful, think about all the hope there would be.
Gratitude is so interconnected with so many other things. Like hope. I don’t know that I have often made the connection between the two, but it is definitely there. I’m glad laughter is returning more and more in your family. It is critical for all of us. Have a blessed Thanksgiving, Lori!
Lori, thank you so much for including me in your feature round up today. That’s an honor and a blessing to me. I hope to check out all the others links during my Thanksgiving week break! I loved your post today as well, Lori. Wow, so powerful. Thank you for being such a hope-giver! Blessings!
Lori – I do practice gratitude but I still need more laughter in my life. Sometimes I pray for laughter. I am sorry for your pain. I hope it has been resolved. Unfortunately I must be a slow learned because God seems to allow physical pain in my life at times and every time I have a lesson to learn. Thank you for choose Wendy’s post. I will let her know. Happy Thanksgiving! Maree
Gratitude is a weapon. Yes! What a great, new thought!
Glad it was mold and not something more. 🙂
Thanks for the link up this week. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Amen, Lori! Such an encouraging post! Thank you! Choosing gratitude is indeed a tough choice during the messiness of life, but God is faithful to grant both the desire and the reward. And for that I’m grateful. 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving, my friend!
Dear Lori
Thank you for sharing your thoughts in “When Gratitude Is Lost in the Messiness of Life” with us.
You’re right: Gratitude and hope are intertwined.
You ask your readers if we’ve been there? I’ve been there many times.
Sometimes it’s difficult to take the eyes of the pain and focus on other elements in life.
I liked your reminder about expressing gratitude for the simple things.
When we do as you suggest we begin to see so many elements in life that we should appreciate.
My favourite sentence in your blog post was: “Success isn’t found in the easy.”
I’m so glad you found the laughter again.
Laughter is a crucial part of life.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Edna Davidsen
Have a lovely Thanksgiving! Thanks for hosting!
Great Post Lori! Thanks for sharing this beautiful message of gratitude with us. Indeed, many a times we miss out on being thankful to God. But when we learn to embrace the attitude of gratitude no matter what the circumstances are, we can enjoy His hope and joy to the fullest. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones:)