I came across this quote recently and wanted to share it with you. Since this is a month in which those of us in the USA celebrate Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to give a good amount of focus to the practice and virtue of gratitude.
What do you think the world might be like if we all intentionally chose to be thankful every day instead of complaining and critiquing everything and everyone? What if we chose to be thankful in our everyday interactions and on social media? I think I’d really like that world, wouldn’t you?
I’d like to share with you a practice that I do throughout the day to stay in a place of gratitude. It really is a matter of focus. I simply ‘look up’, as in upward toward heaven, with thankfulness every morning and throughout the day. Simply the change in focus changes the way I see things.
Year ago I was tied up in knots about a bunch of things that were bugging me. I prayed about it and asked God for help. Then I took a short nap. While I was resting, I had a dream with this picture:
I saw myself sitting on a couch with a magnifying glass in my hand. I focused the magnifying glass downward toward the ground and all I saw was the dirt, bugs, trash, etc. magnified bigger than life. Then I just laid back in a resting position on the couch and lifted the my magnifying glass toward the sky. At that moment, the face of God appeared in the glass and became my total focus. All I could see was the loving eyes and watchful care of my Father in heaven. Then this verse came to mind:
“Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalms 34:3,4 NKJV
Then this thought emerged in my thoughts, “Whatever you focus on will be magnified in your eyes.”
I realized from that time on that I had a choice that could shift my whole view of what was happening. I simply had to practice it daily. From then on I have tried to make that shift of focus all through the day by looking upward with thanksgiving to God, then trusting God to give me His thoughts about the matters in front of me. Like us, I think God appreciates it when we appreciate Him!
If you do this, you will be able to also practice gratitude with the people in your life, both in close relationships and with those you encounter wherever you are at the moment. It spills over from heaven to earth, as the quote from Isaac Walton suggests.
I’m really grateful for each one of YOU! Our lives have intersected in ways that are meaningful to me and I hope meaningful to you. I hope what I’ve shared today will be an inspiration for you to increase the level of gratitude in your life.
Gratefully yours,
Terri
