As I mentioned in an earlier post, last week was a week of lessons for me. First on hearing and not just being present when something is said, then on grumbling in the circumstances that God has led me, and last (and in conjunction with the previous lesson) on gratitude.
I have a good life. It isn't the life I had hoped for myself, in the place I had hoped to be, but it is, nonetheless, a good life. I have a home, a husband of several decades who loves me, children and grandchildren. I'm no fashionista, but I have clothes that match and shoes to protect my feet. I have pets to love, a car and a job that allows me to pay for that vehicle, and plenty of books to read. I'm a horrid cook, but my pantry and refrigerator is stocked decently enough.
I have no cause for complaints, but yet, too often I focus on what I want instead of what I have. Because of that, I fail to thank the Lord as often as I should for His many blessings and for his care. Numerous times in my life I've prayed fervent prayers asking the Lord for help for various people and situations. Many of those prayers have been answered. When I look back, I realize more than not, I was like one of the nine lepers whom Jesus healed and who failed to return to thank Him for His help. Shouldn't my joy and gratitude exceed the passion of my initial prayers?
The Lord is due His worship and honor. When I think of the twenty-four elders in the book of Revelation who sit before the Lord in heaven and fall to worship Him whenever the, "living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne," I have to think that included in that worship is gratitude for all the wonderful things the Lord has done for a people who didn't deserve it.
It's a reminder many of us need.