Learn to be grateful in all things…

I don’t make resolutions, but in 2020 I decided that I would approach the year, and life, with a more grateful heart.  Now, when I say grateful, I mean being grateful for everything… and I mean everything.  Showing gratitude for the big things, the small things, the minute things, the good things, the bad things, the things that appear insignificant and the like.   Embracing the Law of Attraction, I’m a strong believer in the fact that you get back what you give out.  I prefer to call it God, but call it whatever you like… Karma, Fate, the Universe, Kismet, whatever; the truth of the matter is that the energy that you exude into the atmosphere cycles back to give you more of what you put out… in other words, the more gratitude, positivity, thankfulness and love you demonstrate and emanate, the more of the same will come back to you.  The same goes for the opposite, the more negativity, hatred, ungratefulness and the sort, the more of it is attracted to you and no one wants that.  In 2 Corinthians 9:10 the Bible says “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” Isn’t that amazing?!… Not only does he promise to supply you with seed and bread for provision but He also promises to give you more seed, increase your capacity for storage and harvest!  I don’t think it gets any better than that.  But all of these promises are predicated on your disposition to the blessing given; which is why it is so important to be grateful in all things… because if 2020 has taught us anything, it can, indeed, get much worse.  Here are a few things that I know for certain you should express gratitude for…

Be Grateful for the Small Things

Anyone can be grateful for the big things that happen in their lives.  You got the promotion you’d been waiting for or the you finally got a closing date on your dream house.  But since consciously employing gratefulness, I realize that it is important to celebrate and show gratitude for the small victories along the way.  For instance, awhile back I was out shopping.  Now, those that know me well know that I don’t shop often; but when I do I’m laser focused on the items I need so I can get in and get out… But this particular day I let myself “browse”.  In doing so, I stumbled across a pair of cute jeans so I tried them on… Lo and behold they fit, like they fit fit…  Ladies, you know that type of fit I’m talking about; hugging all the right places.  Now I’m a frugal spender so I had to look at the price tag before I made my decision… My heart hurt when I looked and saw $60… $60?!?!?! In my mind I was telling myself “Honey, $60 is not in the budget boo…” But I couldn’t put them down.  I decided that I would splurge on myself for the time being and if I had a change of heart within the next few days then I would return them.  I went to the register, the cashier scanned the tag, I looked at the screen… $12.  Say wha…?! It read $12.  I almost broke out into a shout.  I paid for my purchase and headed home but before I started the car I said a quick “Thank you Jesus”.  I honestly believe that uttering those three simple words at that time was the catalyst for other small victories to follow.   Like, me winning $50 the following week or finding a close parking space at the farmer’s market right by the entrance (if you’ve ever gone to our local famer’s market you’d understand just how major this is) or even mustering up the courage to step outside of my comfort zone to begin this blog!  All of that happened because I had gratitude for that one small thing… being able to save $48 on a pair of jeans.  How can I say that?  Because I know that if I can show God that I’m grateful for the little things, then it proves that I can be even more grateful for the big things… I’m excited to see how these small wins add up to something even bigger.

Be Grateful for the Bad Things

No one ever wants bad situations to occur or have their plans disrupted for reasons outside of their control.  It can be devastating; it’s definitely disappointing and it all around SUCKS!!!!  But have you ever thought that maybe those “bad things” were supposed to happen on order to get you to the place you are today?…  Some storms come to disrupt our plans but others come to clear our path.  I don’t talk about this much but a few years ago I was let-go from the job that I thought was my saving grace; the job that I had diligently prayed to God for.  The job that was paying the salary I thought I wanted, the job that I moved hundreds of miles away from what I had called home for 10+ years, the job that allowed for me to purchase my first home that I prayed for a few months’ prior… Poof!!!!! Gone in just a little more than 60 seconds.  There I was, unemployed and trying to figure out how I was going to make it…  I cried.  I sought guidance from family.  I cried.  I prayed.  I cried.  I got angry.  I cried.  I asked God, “How could you allow me to come here, uproot me from my comfort zone by moving and obtain all of these things if you planned to take them away?”  And I’ll never forget the revelation he gave me; he said “I brought you here for a purpose and for my will to be done, but you got too comfortable.  I knew you wouldn’t move unless I made you move.  So I took the job you thought you needed away but trust me my child, I promise to give you something greater.”  Fast forward two months later, I was offered a position paying more than what I was making before; one that allowed me to be recognized for all of my hard work, advance higher within the company, travel and provided a designated time for weekly bible study.  That was almost five years ago and I am still thriving.  You can’t tell me my God isn’t good!!!!!

I realized that had all that not happened, had my plan not been completely disrupted, I would not have been able to accomplish what I have accomplished to date.  I wouldn’t have what I have now nor would my relationship with God and my faith be as strong. 

Be Grateful for the Things that didn’t happen

I ran into a situation awhile back where I had applied for a job with another company.  Yeah, I know… I just finished talking about how great my current job is only to apply for something else; trust me the irony is not lost on me.  Honestly, it was a shot in the dark; just putting out feelers to see if anyone would bite and they did.  If given the opportunity this job would put me in an even better financial position… the salary was substantially higher than my current salary, it was closer to my home, it was with a large company so the benefits would’ve been better, it required at least 50% travel (which I love!!!!), I could even request for more paid time leave and possibly negotiate a remote working situation.  All of which I wanted and felt like I deserved.  Now I will admit, I have a slight adversity to change but not a strong one… it just gives me a little trepidation.  Anywho… Like I said, they bit.  So I went through all the preliminary stuff; phone screenings with the recruiter and then the hiring manager.  And then I got the call for the in person interview… SWEET!!!! Still wasn’t sure I even wanted the job because my current position, though it was hindered by schedule constraints and whatnot, I had full autonomy as to how I actually worked.  So I prayed, “Lord, you know my needs and the desires of my heart.  Though I don’t really want to leave my current job, if this is for me let things progress smoothly.  Let Your will be done in my life God; in Jesus name I pray. Amen.”  Nevertheless, immediately I began to day dream about what I would do if I got the job; yes, it would be a change and I would be starting over from scratch building relationships and such but the travel, the potential schedule freedom, the money… the money would be worth it… Right?  So the day of the interview arrives and it seems like everything that could go wrong does.  Long story short, I was late to the interview which had me upset, frazzled and even more nervous than before.  But, while interviewing I noticed as the day went on that the interviewers on the schedule were not very, let’s say… diverse.  Not to mention, as the interview progressed and I learned more about the position, it didn’t seem as good of a fit as I initially thought it would be.  The job sounded down right boring to be honest.  Needless to say, even though I still felt like I did a good job in the interview, I was more so sure that I didn’t want the position and was now struggling with how to turn them down if offered.  Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about that because they chose to go with another candidate… and I was so grateful.  The more I think about it, I would have been miserable in that position and the change would not have been for the better.  But with that being said, I know that whenever it is time for me to move forward in my career that God has something better in store for me and whatever that position is it will be a perfect fit.

Be Grateful for the Things you already have

With COVID-19 throwing the world into a tail spin and essentially placing all of our lives on hold, it’s easy to begin to focus on the things you don’t have or can’t do.  Like the fact that you don’t have enough food to carry you through the entire shelter-in-place, or enough toilet tissue and paper towels, or Lysol spray or wipes, or money.  And then there’s the fact that you can’t go to the mall, or go out for brunch with your friends, or take a vacation abroad, or visit your family or see your elderly parents or grandparents… I get it.  All of the “can’ts” and “don’ts” can be overwhelming if you put all of your focus on them and none of your focus on what you do have and can do. 

See, this time of “isolation” has been easy for me… I’m an introvert, so being a lone isn’t new for me. It’s actually been a time for recharge, renewal, and restoration.  But I do understand that there are others that are having a very difficult time in sitting still and just letting it be.  What I can say, that hopefully will help those people, is that:

1. Everything happens for a reason… I’d like to think that the reason for all of this is that the world in itself needed a break from human activity. To reset itself and begin to heal.  I’m sure you noticed how much cleaner the air has been now that there aren’t as many cars on the roadways, or how the seasons have been more defined, etc. etc. So in essence, it’s not and had never been about us at all but the universe. 
2. We all needed to refocus on the things that are most important in life… Family, finances and personal growth.  Since all we really have is time together, I’ve seen so many people reconnect with their spouses and their children, learning new skills, finally finish or start those home projects that they have been talking about for months or even years, and/or using this time to get their finances in order and pay off debt and begin the process of financial freedom because they aren’t spending as much as they would if they were out in the world.
3. I also believe this was a time for the human beings to stop being so distracted by the “busyness” of life long to actually see and begin to address the social atrocities that have been plaguing our society for decades.  It’s very difficult to ignore the racial and socio-economic disparities when they are literally staring you in the face and being broadcasted across the nation.

I know people joke about 2020 and how it didn’t give the vision that we thought it would; but I disagree. I strongly believe that, despite what we think, we did receive the “2020 Vision” that we NEEDED. Things were revealed this past year that would have otherwise been overlooked or diluted had things been “normal”; but because of the anomaly of a year that we had, we were able to open our eyes to see people, things, and situations in a brand new light. Hopefully, we won’t soon forget but instead be charged to seek and make the necessary changes in order to make life better for our future generations.

Be Grateful for Things yet to come

With all that has happened in the past year, I can honestly say I am overly hopeful for what is in store for us in 2021… I know, I know, most are saying “Don’t jinx it!” but I don’t subscribe to that spirit of fear so I readily proclaim that 2021 will be the year that I receive everything that I desire in life; and you should too.  Remember, words have power.  And we have been given the authority to speak those things into existence by declaring and decreeing our wants and desires into the atmosphere.  So I say, be hopeful… be thankful… and be grateful for all the things that will occur this year because it’s all a part of the divine plan for your life.  Be grateful for the boring things, the great things, the miniscule things, the bad things… literally, any and everything because whether you want to believe it or not, ALL THINGS ARE WORKING FOR YOUR GOOD!!!! And you can choose whether those things bring you happiness and joy along the way or sadness and grief throughout the process.  I choose happiness and joy, I choose to be grateful for 2021 and all that holds; and hopefully after reading this you will be inspired to also be grateful in all things too.  May your 2021 be blessed and highly favored through gratitude.