Last week, I heard one of my wise kids say to my grandchildren, “Just because you can’t have something you want doesn’t mean you get to be grumpy about it.”
Those youngsters have pared down the rhetoric. Now they say, “You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit!” Thrown any fits lately? Gotten into the “grumpy gimmies” about your lot in life? Lest you think an occasional pity party is okay, check this out:
“Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).
“Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 106:1).
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2).
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4).
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34).
And then this quote, uncredited but repeated by Jan Karon in The Mitford Bedside Companion: “In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.”
SO, when life doesn’t give you what you want, deny yourself the easy choice of grumping about it. Choose, instead, to be thankful, because the Lord who loves you really does know best. Gratefulness can make the difference in your day!
photo credit: Ben White via Unsplash.com
Smoother Sailing 