Gratitude Brings us Happiness

Shortly after my heart recovered and I was able to have my heart pump removed, I began starting each day with the prayer, "Lord, thank you for healing my heart."  You've probably heard people say that if you aren't in the hospital, it's a good day.  We often don't think about the possibility that at any moment, chaos and grief can strike.  Our world can change in an instant.  But once we have come through something traumatic, like losing a loved one, a major illness, a divorce, or a major calamity like a fire or hurricane, we are acutely aware of just how blessed we are.  And so I started each day trying to keep at the forefront of my mind, just how blessed God had made me by healing my heart.  Psalm 92:2 says, "It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, and your faithfulness in the evening."

A few months ago, I lost my mom.  The grief has been so hard.  I have found the best antidote for sadness and grief has been to force myself to start realizing the many ways I have been blessed.  Because I have been missing her more the last few weeks, I have been making her favorite soups.  Each night as I am making them, I force myself to remember all the beautiful lessons I learned from her, and all the fun times we had sharing these soups together in a meal.  I have been blessed.  It is hard, but I am blessed.

Many of the people around me that I love dearly, are also grieving and struggling with issues.  It is easy to get overwhelmed and saddened.  But then I am reminded of how deeply God loves each of us: that is why we are so blessed.

There have been times when I have been asked why God allows such suffering in the world.  I have wrestled with this question too.  A few weeks ago, I found myself all alone in a hospital in NYC.  I have never felt so alone in my life.  And I was remembering all the pain and suffering my mom had experienced before her suffering, and I couldn't help but ask the Lord why he allowed it.  My mind kept coming back to God being our shepherd and watching over his flock.  How he cares so deeply for each one that he would leave his flock just to retrieve one lost sheep.  And then God turned my mind to the bummer sheep.  When a sheep is rejected by their mother or lame/injured, the shepherd has to gather them into his arms and nurse them back to health.  This one on one and very intimate time with shepherd is what helps the sheep learn to trust their master and to experience how much he truly loves and cares for them.  Then in the future when that sheep is returned to the flock, they always have that special connection to the shepherd.  I love this analogy.


And then once again, I am reminded how blessed I truly am.  How have you been blessed today?