“In ordinary life, we hardly realise that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I tried to remember back to a time when I had nothing, and realised I’ve always been flooded with the goodness of God. Even my memory is a gift. Every part of my body, my elbows and the summer worn, slightly burnt skin that’s holding it all together, even the air that’s sustaining me right now. It’s all gift. A 100% gift from a generous and benevolent Father.

I like stopping for long enough to write a list of things I’m grateful for. I start with 3, and reflect on them. The truth is, when I start brainstorming everything, I mean really get into the detail… it’s hard to stop.

When we remember to be grateful it;

⁃    enlarges our vision
⁃    creates a sense of well-being and contentment
⁃    it keeps us from taking the things that matter in our life for granted

I want to find gratitude – in the shoes I wear, or the fact that I even have shoes; in the suffocating heat of summer, because someone in another hemisphere living with ice and snow is longing for  it right now; in the smell of roast potato in the oven; in the timeless moments like – my sleeping daughters tangled blond hair and her warm breath as she stirs while I check on her before I go to bed in the evening; the long cricket games on saturday morning with my boys;or the tears sown over song lyrics that just cant seem to be tamed the way I want them to…

Once you go there, there’s so much in life to be grateful for, it’s hard to take it all in.

Could we ever be grateful enough?

If we can receive the colours, the dry seasons, the harvest seasons and the details of life as a gift, and if we can return it in worship, then maybe we are entering into our true purpose in God.

Everything starts and ends with thanksgiving.