Seeing Life Through the Eyes of Gratitude
The blessings of Lord or new every morning. Sometimes we don’t always recognize them. Either they come disguised under the cloak of grief or we just pass them by in the rush of the day. Look closely my friend…the blessings of God are uniquely woven into the moments of your day.
We see life through our own set of eyes (have you thanked Him for yours?). My eyes are focused on capturing moments of beauty in nature. That’s how He wired me…to stop,look, and listen for Him in the ordinary. The tiniest of flowers breaking through the debris covered ground often gets ignored and walked past… or walked on.. by some with their eyes fixed on the next thing to do and place to be. For me, my gaze is most often downward – partly because I’m not real sure footed so I’m always watching where I walk. But it’s in that eyes down position that I see the tiniest of flowers amidst the debris and I marvel at how something so small could push through all that dirt and debris, only to look up in praise to God for a brief season… and then vanish away. It’s that moment that whispers to my heart with a holy hush and I respond softly, “Thank You.”
To live a thanks filled life is to live a life that sees God’s hand in every breath I take. A thankful life sees the blessings and simple pleasures of a gentle breeze or watching birds collect their bounty in their beaks.
It’s being thankful I can ride in an air conditioned car on a hot summer’s day.
It’s being thankful for having a washing machine of my own so I don’t have to go to the laundry mat or wash along the water’s edge like so many women around the world.
It’s a simple life of reflecting on one verse of Scripture at a time and enjoying the richness and reward of its every word. How often have I raced through a passage just so I could check off having my “quiet time” this morning from the to-do list? His Word is a treasure trove of wisdom that will yield wealth and reward in a whole new dimension.
When I consider the word wealth, I tend to think of material wealth, of having money and possessions. But what about having a wealthy spirit? Do I allow each word from his Word to fill me so my spirit is overflowing and spilling out upon those around me? Do I mull on the treasures hidden in each verse?
Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; in Thy right hand are pleasures forever.” Psalm 16:11
According to this verse, I can have joy ever-present in my life – ALWAYS – even in the hard times. In His presence is fulness of joy. He is always present, therefore I can always have joy. The joy and the goodness of God ARE the joy and the good in life. What more could I ever desire. I have everything I need right there in His presence, in His Word.
I’m indeed a blessed woman. I have much to be thankful for when I choose to see life through the eyes of gratitude.
How has He blessed you today?
Lord, give me eyes to see your hand of blessing in my life. Help me to recognize that your blessings to me aren’t necessarily in adding things to my life, but rather it’s found in your nearness. Help me to live a thankful life, a life of gratitude and contentment even if all I have left in this world is You. In Jesus Name, Amen.
A Side Note and Invitation:
Eight years ago, Iris Nelson – the owner of this site, started a meme called Thankful Thursday on her blog. It ran weekly for 7 years and then she had to let it go due to life’s demands. I was blessed to be a part of this caring community for most of those 7 years, then I burned out with blogging and didn’t participate for the last few months it ran. This year I moved my blog to a new platform and I’m starting over. One of the things I’ve missed is the caring community of friends that I developed through the Thankful Thursday meme. I spoke with Iris and she gave me her blessing to start it back up again using my blog as the hosting site.
Tomorrow, Thursday, May 14, is kick off! I’m so excited – and honored to be able to host this wonderful link up. Thankful Thursday will have it’s own page on my website. I’d love for you to stop by, select a button from the sidebar, then add it to your post. I’ll have my post up by 9:00 pm EASTERN Time every Wednesday. Please come and add your Thankful Thursday post to the Linky List – use the direct link to the post, not to your blog, please. Be sure to visit others who link up and share their thankful post. This link up is a way to link blogs and hearts through gratitude. Please come and help me in forming a new community of thankful people.
“…stop,look, and listen for Him in the ordinary” I love this! I think this is advice many of us can take. It’s so easy to miss the little blessings in life when we’re so focused on other things. Sometimes it’s good to just slow down a bit.
That’s the key, Bernadine…. slow down our minds and our bodies. Have a blessed week, my friend.
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A great Word to urge us to live a thankful- focused life! Beautiful photographs as well!
Thank you, Sherri. It’s so easy to lose our focus, isn’t it. Have a blessed week, my friend.
So true, Marsha; seeing the world with gratitude makes a huge difference. And fixing my eyes on Him during the rough times, gives me peace.
I am thrilled that you are reviving Thankful Thursday and I hope that it will help people to see things through the eyes of thankfulness.
Me, too, Iris. It takes time to rebuild community. I’m praying that others will pin in over the days and weeks ahead. I know it helped me to be more thankful.