In my forward spiral through life I’ve come around yet again to a place of feeling overwhelmed.
Waves of poor me wash in when I think of all the things I must do. Mundane tasks, simple tasks, and even interesting tasks for work, home, garden, personal. They all pile up and obscure my path to appreciation for the immense blessings that surround me. Family, friends, home. They all seem so inaccessible, “unfeelable”. Worse, even the Lord seems distant.
So I asked Him why that is. Immediately he responded, gratefulness. I confess I struggle to be grateful. It doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m sort of a melancholy person and have to work at those optimistic type of feelings.
So, what does it look like to be grateful? The thing that came to mind was that stewardship is a form of gratefulness. To carefully consider, pause, see, appreciate, and put my hand to properly caring for the things I have. The people I have in my life. And who have me. All of which in turn, circles back around to foster gratefulness.
Gratefulness, it seems, is an action word. To be expressed in the little tasks, the big challenges, and in every victory. Gratefulness is a make-up-my-mind choice. To see with grateful eyes all the goodness in my midst, within my grasp.
In this way I can feel, receive, His blessings. And more importantly, I feel closer to my Lord. Not necessarily because He blesses me. But rather, because gratefulness is a key that opens the door to His heart. And that’s truly the biggest and best blessing of all. To be so important to my Father that He’s willing to offer a key to His heart so that I can be drawn closer to Him.
Candi Runyon
Prayer Director
