Joy Is Gratitude

Author: siggy

Joy is gratitude.  It is looking at your life and every aspect of it and thanking the Lord for every simple thing He has given you.  Sometimes it is others you need to give a simple “thank you”.  God works through other people all the time.  Don’t take any gift you have for granted.  As well as all the simple pleasures that come your way.  Joy is gratitude and thanking the Lord for the simplest gifts He has given you.  He has given your life.  And every morning you wake up you need to thank Him for every breath you take.  Get in the habit of thanking others and the Almighty for every single gift.  Life is composed of myriad details.  And prayerfully thank someone for every detail of your life–every pleasure-every thing.  He does not owe you anything.  And He usually gives us abundance.  Don’t be an ungrateful taker.  Thank Him for every detail of your life.  Joy will always follow gratitude.

Do what you love with all your heart and soul.  An example of this is a lady in our town.  She has a sign on the front of her house, “Sew plain and fancy.”  Usually we take our clothes to her for her mending (and so do a lot of other people).  She is quite reasonable and usually we pay her more than she asks.  We do appreciate her.  She has a steady stream of customers.  What she does is no small thing.  It is done joyously and willingly.  I don’t care what your gifts and talents are–do unto the Lord and with a gracious heart.  Do your labor honestly and quietly.  That is all that counts.  Whatever it is.  Like this lady in town.  You will be rewarded.  Every time.

Life Ain’t Fair

Author: siggy

Life ain’t fair.  There is no way to get around that.  Wealth is not distributed evenly.  Financial wealth is just one kind.  Gifts given to each individual are never equal and some people are more gifted than others.  That is why coveting is a sin and why each person is commanded to help those less fortunate and it is a sin to walk away and not help someone when it was in your power to do so.

Railing at your misfortune never accomplishes anything.  It makes it harder.  Instead of making the best of your situation.  It diffuses valuable energy that could be directed elsewhere more positively.  Life simply is not fair.  Some people suffer more than others.  And someone pointing out to you that you are better off than X or Y does not help much.  You do what you can and then rest.  And help those around you with whatever you got.  Give cheerfully and you will never be unhappy.

I never gave my left arm any thought.  They operated on it in the last week.  It was a surgical procedure to ready me for dialysis.  Now I have some idea how my friend David feels:  He is a guitarist who has to be careful how much he plays because he has a “bad” wrist.

My arm was sore and if I use it too much it hurts even more.  I never gave my left arm any thought.  What else am I taking for granted?  I can’t drive too well and Christmas is coming up.

I don’t feel like shopping.  Now the holiday is two weeks away and I do not feel like ordering gifts via the internet.  And it is getting too late to do so.  I just can’t do a whole lot with a sore left arm.  It is hard not to feel sorry for myself.

Every Moment Is Precious

Author: siggy

Every moment is precious.  And it is so easy to take your life for granted and every ability you have.  Every thing is a privilege until you lose it and realize what you had was really on loan.  Everything is by grace.  And to the degree you can consciously realize every moment is precious the less you will take for granted the gifts granted to you are only by grace.  Every sunset and sunrise you come across are only by grace.  Every moment is precious.  And you have to remind yourself of this over and over.

Everything is by grace.  Your new day, the next dawn, is only by grace.  I am so aware of that.  I have gotten a solid night sleep, drunk my morning coffee and now await the dawn.

I know that is a privilege.  It is so easy to take the next day for granted.  And sometimes I do.  But not today.

I am waiting for the darkness to lift and then see the steady stream of the birds come to my feeders.

Today I see my optometrist.  I am glad I can.  I have never seen one who has such a gentle touch.  I think of the many people who service my wife and me, the shop we bring our cars which we depend on.  Bob’s customer service is so good.  I do not take it for granted.

There is my family doctor who I go to for checkups (and their support team).  There are so many people whose services I use who I try not to take for granted.  I am well aware everything is by grace.  And I appreciate everything given to me.  They are all gifts.  I did nothing to deserve them.  And that is such an incomplete list.

Sometimes life is fair.  Sometimes it isn’t.  And sometimes it never is.  I am reminded of the famous anecdote of Eisenhower whose mother told him what you have to do is deal with the hand you are dealt with.  The fact life is not fair.  Some people appear to have it very easy.  They have no money worries.  Their life seems to flow.  And there is no doubt money (the lack of) can cause quite a bit of worry.

The fact is we are all unequally gifted.  Some people are very talented:  can do almost anything and be successful.  Some people have more.  Some people have less.  Envy can eat at you.  There is a good reason “Thou shall not covet” is one of the ten commandments.

But when you rail at the higher powers for being so unfair with your worldly station, it only leads to problems and dissatisfaction.  Pray to God with thanksgiving.  There is a reason for that advice in the Bible.

Otherwise we are this whining entity wanting this and that from above.  I think of God being above and millions maybe billions of strings are pulling at him all wanting it a different way.  Realizing everything is by grace and thanking God for all your blessings corrects your dissatisfaction with your life.

Insisting on God (or a higher power) being fair only can frustrate you.  Because life is NOT FAIR.  The serenity prayer is worth repeating and these are not the exact words:  what is in your control change, accept what isn’t and have the wisdom to know the difference.  These are not the exact words but it gets the point across.  Grab the control in your life you can, realize what you have no control of.  And accept the results.  That is the beginning of wisdom.