Ginny Musing - Gratitude
It is easy in daily life to forget how blessed we are. We have a natural tendency to focus on the things that go wrong, our mistakes and the mistakes of others, the thing we don’t have and the things we wish were different. We are called to give God thanks always and everywhere because always and everywhere God blesses us.
We count our blessings day by day if we are aware that everything is a gift from God – every bite of food, every glass of water, the energy that gives us light, heat and cooling, the clothes we wear, the books we read, the natural beauty that surrounds us, the television and the radio that’s brings the news from around the world and the entertainment that allow s us to take time out for relaxation and all the other gifts of nature and grace.
These ought to inspire us to give thanks to God and bless those around us. We bless because we have been blessed, and so whatever good we do is not done to earn God’s favour but becomes our response to God’s utter graciousness and goodness.
When we believe that everything in life is a gift from God, we realize that gratitude is at the heart of spirituality. Yet how often do we take the gifts of nature and grace for granted? How often are we ungrateful children of God?
Shakespeare said it in King Lear:
One of the great parables on the subject of giving thanks, is the story of the ten lepers. The lepers had come to Jesus with a desperate longing. Leprosy at that time had many of the associations that AIDS has for us today. Lepers were ostracized and denied even the most basic human rights. A leper could only be healed by a miracle. Jesus cured all ten, only one came back to give thanks for the cure that changed their lives.
Just two words, thank you, would have made a difference. Those two words are reckoned to be among the finest in our vocabulary. But when you think how rare gratitude is, it looks as though we find it hard to say the words “thank you.”
It often happens that a spouse, parent, brother, sister, friend, colleague, neighbour, does something which is impossible to repay. The tragedy of life is that we don’t even try to repay it.
My dad told me this story a while back and I have never forgotten it.
There was a man who had nothing. God gave him ten apples, three for food, three for shelter from the sun and rain, and three to trade for clothing to cover his body. God gave him the tenth apple so that he would have something to give back to God. The man held up the tenth apple and examined it closely. It seemed rosier and juicier than the rest. In his heart he knew that God expected him to use this apple as a gift in return for the other nine. But the tenth apple was more appetizing than the others were. The man reasoned that God had all the other apples in the world so he ate the tenth apple and gave the core back to God.
Ingratitude is one of the ugliest of human faults and failings. It makes us feel used, taken for granted, worthless and lowers our sense of esteem. Without gratitude, life is hollow, shallow and empty of goodness. Without thankfulness, life itself is thankless and tiresome. Gratitude on the other hand is one of the most beautiful things in the world.
We are called to be life-giving people, to be grateful always and everywhere because always and everywhere we have been blessed. You cannot be grateful and sad at the same time, gratitude and sadness cannot coexist. Holiness and gratitude are part of the same reality. Gratitude allows us to pray always, thank you. Only one kind of person transforms the world – the person with a grateful heart!
We count our blessings day by day if we are aware that everything is a gift from God – every bite of food, every glass of water, the energy that gives us light, heat and cooling, the clothes we wear, the books we read, the natural beauty that surrounds us, the television and the radio that’s brings the news from around the world and the entertainment that allow s us to take time out for relaxation and all the other gifts of nature and grace.
These ought to inspire us to give thanks to God and bless those around us. We bless because we have been blessed, and so whatever good we do is not done to earn God’s favour but becomes our response to God’s utter graciousness and goodness.
When we believe that everything in life is a gift from God, we realize that gratitude is at the heart of spirituality. Yet how often do we take the gifts of nature and grace for granted? How often are we ungrateful children of God?
Shakespeare said it in King Lear:
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is/ To have a thankless child.”One of the great themes of Jesus was gratitude. Gratitude is contagious. The contemplative soul is the soul that is full of gratitude. Surely on of the great prayers is, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you no matter what.”
One of the great parables on the subject of giving thanks, is the story of the ten lepers. The lepers had come to Jesus with a desperate longing. Leprosy at that time had many of the associations that AIDS has for us today. Lepers were ostracized and denied even the most basic human rights. A leper could only be healed by a miracle. Jesus cured all ten, only one came back to give thanks for the cure that changed their lives.
Just two words, thank you, would have made a difference. Those two words are reckoned to be among the finest in our vocabulary. But when you think how rare gratitude is, it looks as though we find it hard to say the words “thank you.”
It often happens that a spouse, parent, brother, sister, friend, colleague, neighbour, does something which is impossible to repay. The tragedy of life is that we don’t even try to repay it.
My dad told me this story a while back and I have never forgotten it.
There was a man who had nothing. God gave him ten apples, three for food, three for shelter from the sun and rain, and three to trade for clothing to cover his body. God gave him the tenth apple so that he would have something to give back to God. The man held up the tenth apple and examined it closely. It seemed rosier and juicier than the rest. In his heart he knew that God expected him to use this apple as a gift in return for the other nine. But the tenth apple was more appetizing than the others were. The man reasoned that God had all the other apples in the world so he ate the tenth apple and gave the core back to God.
Ingratitude is one of the ugliest of human faults and failings. It makes us feel used, taken for granted, worthless and lowers our sense of esteem. Without gratitude, life is hollow, shallow and empty of goodness. Without thankfulness, life itself is thankless and tiresome. Gratitude on the other hand is one of the most beautiful things in the world.
We are called to be life-giving people, to be grateful always and everywhere because always and everywhere we have been blessed. You cannot be grateful and sad at the same time, gratitude and sadness cannot coexist. Holiness and gratitude are part of the same reality. Gratitude allows us to pray always, thank you. Only one kind of person transforms the world – the person with a grateful heart!
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