Christian Foundations – Sunday Cuppa’ – Gratitude
Hello everyone! Grab a cuppa’ and get comfortable. Lately I have been thinking about the importance of Gratitude! So thought I’d drop by today and say hello and have a chat about how important this quality is in our life.
So to begin with, have you ever thought about what you bring to your relationships? No matter how huge people’s problems are, having a positive attitude will help. Sometimes, you can be that ray of sunshine in another person’s life.
Any research on the subject of Gratitude shows that this attitude has a tremendous influence on every organ in your body. That’s a good reason to find out more about how to be grateful and gracious with yourself and others.
So how can we have more Gratitude? I find it helpful to start my day with the things I am grateful about…whether it’s the rain that’s come to Australia or my own personal life. You could even begin to be grateful for the gift of life itself. Your Creator wanted you born and wanted you to experience and learn from being in this world!
For those people who like to write things down, or keep a journal, take the challenge to find and write down two things you are grateful about each day. Is that going to be too hard, do I hear you say? For some it could be a challenge but as you begin to look for good things around you, it will surprise how many good things there are! Remember Gratitude is infectious.
Research also shows us that a huge percentage of people will go through depression some time in their 
life. For me, it was at University – working, studying and having a social life tended to burn the candle at both ends. I slipped into a dark hole and didn’t want to continue with study or with being in this world. Want to know what brought me out of it? Gratitude.
I took the challenge to find three good things about my life every day. At first, it was having the energy to walk to classes, or finding a friendly smile along the way. Soon, I had a good list of great things in my life and I turned the corner. Eventually I even made my way back to finding the living Jesus again in my life….but that’s another story.
Since our brains are wired for survival, we are trained to look for the threats or future dangers around us. If we continue to live in that mind-set, we will only see negative things waiting for us. That’s part of the challenge – to see the good things there too. That grows our gratitude about the life we live. It also helps us make better choices to get out of that dark hole too.
Then, of course, when we apply that same idea to our relationships – whether family, friends or spouse – change happens there too. Our communication words begin to change and we develop more gratitude from those around us as well. You already know how it feels to be appreciated by someone…so return that appreciation to someone else.
As we grow that habit of being thankful for what others have done for us and what they mean to us, this gratitude spreads. A simple smile or a ‘thank you’ means a lot to many people who live in that dark hole. Gratitude also helps us not take others for granted in our relationships, especially our spouse!
Recently I noticed how my Heart picked up its ears when someone used my name in their sentence. You can practice gratitude by doing just that little thing: say the person’s name when you talk to them. Look for those special moments with others and let them know, it was a special time. Too often we wait until they’re gone to realise how much they meant to us. Death is a door we all walk through and mostly, it’s without notice. Value the time you have with others now.
So give it a try? Don’t take my word for it. Try it and see the difference it will make in your relationships….and have some fun spreading gratitude!
Susanne Fengler, Blog Author
www.christianfoundations.jesus-treeoflife.info
PS Leave me a comment if you agree!
Tags: Cuppa' - Gratitude
Filed under: Sunday Cuppa' with Susanne
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