Attitude of Gratitude

"It could have been me Outdoors (Thank You) with no food (Thank You) and no clothes (Thank You) or just alone without a friend (Thank You) or just another number with a tragic end, but you didn't see fit to let none of these things be, cause everyday you keep on keep on keeping me. Thank You Lord for all you done for me." ---The Late Walter Hawkins

This has been a trying week and a half for me. I have experience death in the family, became unemployed, and been stranded on the side of the road, yet through it all God has still been good to me, and all I can say is Thank You. While I may be going through a storm at this moment, I have realized that I must have an attitude of Gratitude. I still have a roof over my head, I still have food to eat and clothes on my back, why would I do I need to complain just because I'm lacking a few things here or there.

Everyday I walk past people who lay there head on the side of the street, who have to eat out of trash cans to survive, and who do not have decent clothes to wear. This is their reality. It is then that I realized while I may have a few situations going on, life is not as bad as it seems. I'm college educated so I can always get another job, I have a good family, friend and church support system so I'll always eat, and lastly I can buy a new car if I choose to. Most importantly I have realized that "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassion faileth not. They are new every morning, Great is thy Faithfulness" Lamentations 3:22-23.

Because of this I have learned to develop an attitude of gratitude. So often we take for granted the small things in life. We often complain about what we don't have instead of being thankful for what we do have. We have spoiled a generation so much that they have lost the concept of saying thank you. If we stopped and took a second to look at third world countries we would realize that we are blessed beyond measure, and should never have a reason to complain. More importantly if we took a few seconds to look in our own "backyards" we would realize that while life may throw some strong winds and rains, things aren't as bad as they seem. We must make an intentional effort to develop an attitude of gratitude, because at the end of the day God has been good. I promise you, if you THINK you'll THANK.