Grateful
I am blessed to be spending a delightful few days in Florida with friends. These are friends I have known for years and there is an ease of visiting with them that says I am home. We laugh, we reminisce and we solve the problems of the world over coffee. Today my friend returned from his exercise class with a small slip of paper containing the following quote:
“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us and He has given us everything.” Thomas Merton
What a great quote. It reminded me of the following Scriptures.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 NIV
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:1-5
The complete Thomas Merton quote reads:
“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”
Wow, that last part is truly amazing “For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”
This Thanksgiving I am blessed with friends and family and by knowing God is good from experience. My prayer is you are also blessed from experiencing His goodness. Happy Thanksgiving.
Yes. His goodness is overwhelming.
Powerful message, Ann. I too love the last part of Thomas Merton’s quote. We know from experience that God is good. Thank you for sharing, and I am glad that you were able to spend time with friends over Thanksgiving.