Today I want to talk about how living in a state of gratitude can shift your focus and how you look at life. Much of this will be a good reminder to you and not a new concept to anyone but it bodes reminding.

This quote by Thomas Merton articulates well how I think about gratitude:

“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.” 

This week I had to talk the talk about living in a state of gratitude, I was tested. Let me tell you my story…

My home is 17 years old now so things are starting to need replacing and repair, fall apart. Recently I have had more than my share of mishaps and problems.

So I come home from work on Monday (or was it Tuesday?) to a hole in my roof and water falling in and sheet-rock tearing. It was raining at the time so I had water running down the walls and my boys had to put a bucket and towels to help me catch the water. Needless to say I was not happy. Keep in mind that I have had one home repair after the next over the past year, so this was not a welcomed sight. It just seem compounded and overwhelming at the time. My thought was, why does this keep happening to me? I stayed mired in these thoughts all night as I called my trusted repair guy. He came over and helped me put a covering to hold until the morning when he said he would return to help me with the repair. He even made sure no water was leaking before he left. You would think this would calm my nerves. It didn’t. I tossed all night and stayed mired in concern and worry, about whether I could continue to manage the ongoing repairs of my home, whether it was time to move, what else would or could go wrong or break next. This kept up until the next day even as my repair guy showed up to fix the hole. As I was complaining to a friend about my house and the problems it was having. Not a full meltdown, but a mini one (just shy of tears), I had a moment of clarity and I just stopped. This thought popped into my head, focus on your blessings Franka, especially when you feel like crying. So that’s what I did and it changed my whole perspective, in fact, it changed my whole day. I was still a little low for a few hours after but as the day continued I emerged from feeling terrible to laughing at the situation with my home, that I now affectionately call “The Money Pit”. The repair is almost complete now and I have a partial new roof. Woo hoo!!

So what did I learn from this little life lesson?

1.  That when life throws challenges your way, if you focus on the all of the negative, that you will miss the blessing. Being grateful lets you see your blessings and shifts your energy and your entire spirit. God is looking at me and wondering whether I am going to let a little thing like this ruin my day or stand in my gratitude and kick this little challenge to the curb. I kicked it to the curb!!

Are you letting a life challenge kick you in the butt? How can you turn it around and focus on the blessing? Look for the blessing, it is there.

2.  I have so much to be grateful for… 

• The fact that I have a trusted repair guy I can call on anytime is an absolute blessing.  He is reliable and helpful and always shows up when I call.  He knows my home and doesn’t hesitate to lend me a hand. I am so grateful that no matter what time I call, he will come.  In fact after I wrote the previous sentence as I went back and re-read it I realized that my relationship with my repair guy just described how God operates in my life. Look at the highlighted words. Now if that doesn’t blow your mind!! I’m truly humbled right now.
• I have an amazing sister and friends, who support, listen, and encourage me. I don’t know how I would manage without the support of my beloved sister, Marilyn. She is beautiful inside and out. Just having her close is beyond wonderful. No matter what I am going through she is a constant support and friend. I love being here for her as well and thank God everyday that He put someone so wonderful into my life and I can call her my sister. My friend JZ who always is that kind ear and compassionate spirit. She is the type of friend that no matter what will listen and support. She is truly beautiful. And my dear Yoyo who just always knows what to say to encourage and lift me up. We have the kind of relationship where we each know just when the other needs a lift, friendship ESP anyone? This week, her encouragement was exactly what I needed.
• My boys. Who jumped right in and helped their Mom. I have two amazing boys that are growing into two great men and these lessons are helping shape them as much as they are shaping me.

Who are the your trusted friends and supporters? Today just stop and be grateful for what they bring into your life and think about how you can serve them as well.  Give back all that you get.  

3.  These lessons are teaching me how to handle future situations like this. As you know, no experience is without a lesson. I have learned more about home repair that I ever thought I would or could. I know about sheet-rock, shingles, plywood, materials, etc. Whether I stay in this home or move to a new one, I will know what to look for to handle any future repairs. I wrote this one down in my gratitude journal so I wouldn’t forget.

What future lessons can you take away from your current challenging situation? What did you learn? Write it down so you won’t forget.  

So I had a challenging week, so what!! I am sure you did too, and more challenging than me probably. As you go through difficult situations, try to stay in a state of gratitude. It will shift your focus and help you to see all of the things that are going well for you instead of the challenges. You are more blessed than you realized! I know I am.