Grateful Living
Nettie Bozanich
 
The peaceful breeze of a surprisingly cool summer morning passes by.  The sun is twinkling through the branches in waves of celebration.  Birds sing in delight of this glorious new day.  Calmness.  Stillness.  At times like this, I find it easier to be grateful.  There is a clearness about living and a simplicity in existence.
 
It is more difficult to be grateful during hard times.  When the weight of the day feels like it is crushing me, it seems nearly impossible to be grateful.  I’ve found, though, that it is during those troubling times that it is even more necessary for me to be thankful.  Gratefulness, I believe, brings perspective.
 
When I live my life in a symphony of gratefulness, I find that my focus is always on God.  Focusing on the One who made me gives me the grace to live in constant prayer knowing that He is in control; there is a peace – a great peace – that comes from knowing that.
 
It is so easy for me to get caught up in circumstance and in what is happening right now – and in turn to only be grateful when it is easy to be.  I’ve learned that gratefulness attached to circumstance is not what humans have been made for.  Gratefulness is woven into our DNA by God who made us in His image.  In the Bible, 1Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) says: “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
 
Gratefulness is a daily decision made before we rise in the morning.  It is a way of being.  It is a commitment.  And I’ve discovered that the decision to be grateful – no matter what happens – is an invitation to blessing.

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