Several months ago, I was browsing my Nook for something new to read. I stumbled upon a book entitled “A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life” by John Kralik. The author was, at the time, a lawyer in the Los Angeles area who felt like his life had hit rock bottom. He began writing thank you notes, launching a project to write 365 notes in a year as an exercise in gratitude. You’ll have to read the book to see just how much his life changed.
There is a saying that things get messy before they get really good. Looking back on things, it was out of some of the most challenging times that the greatest growth came. The messy times when my husband was facing lay-offs when we had a newborn, or when we learned of our oldest son’s autism diagnosis, or when we found ourselves living apart, relying on family while we moved cross-country and attempted (and failed) to sell a house at the height of the mortgage bust… those messy moments are part of my story, contributing to what makes me, well…me.
It also makes me feel thankful for the support and prayers I have received throughout my life. 1 Chronicles 16:8 says, “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.” God has orchestrated the shifts in my life from messy to shiny, sparkling, and new. Don’t get me wrong. There is plenty of mess in my life. Because life in itself is messy. However, when I look at the mess with thankfulness for the promise of God’s grace, it is easier to work through.
True to Mr. Kralik’s experiment, when we express gratitude not only to God but to those around us, the outlook changes a bit. Not only for you, but for those on the receiving end. A smile and a sincere thank you have the potential to cause a chain reaction of gratitude. What do you think would happen if there was a tidal wave of gratitude rather than the venomous hatred we see every time we wade into the comment section of a story on a hot button topic?
Love, Grace, and Friends 