Written by our Lay Leader, Doug
Thanksgiving is upon us. It is the time of year when we celebrate the gift of gratitude. Gratitude grows out of humility. When we are humble, we receive everything as a gift from God: our life, our health, our family, our friends, our talents, our passions, our vocations, our possessions. In humility, we are grateful for every thing.
Even our hardships, difficulties, and pains are God’s gifts to us, because in them, we commune with Christ in suffering and we are made complete. Without those gifts of suffering, we would be immature, incomplete, and unfulfilled. It may take time for you to accept that suffering is a gift, but if you seek God’s comfort in your pain, rather than resenting it or blaming God for it, you will receive the balm of His presence and love.
Gratitude and humility are the core attitudes for living a joy-filled life. If those aren’t common attitudes for you, make an effort to cultivate them by making a list of all the things for which you are grateful—including your hardships—and add something new to the list every day. Regularly read back over your list, and your gratefulness will grow, and your joy will flourish.