The Power of Gratitude

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” Phil. 2:14-16a

The shift in the atmosphere was so gradual I almost didn’t notice it. Almost. I woke up to an overcast sky, that had a slight twinge of heaviness to it, I just felt like I needed to keep an eye on it.  As the morning went on, the moisture in the air seemed to thicken and grow. Then low-set clouds rolled in, and finally a gauzy fog seemed to settle over our neighborhood. What started out as a day where clouds were touch and go, turned into a full-on shift in the atmosphere. As the fog expanded and covered each building a weighted silence descended with it. Peaceful and eerie. In a matter of moments our visibility was gone, I couldn’t go for a walk, let alone drive as the wall of fog had us surrounded. It’s wild how something as simple as water in the air can build, condense and then shape the atmosphere around us.

It got me thinking the same thing about how easily our moods and thoughts change like the air around us. Sometimes it feels like we’re one discouraging remark away from the fog-funk’s descent. Think about it this way: A complaining thought comes in. (A cloud starts creeping) we mull it around, (moisture builds) and then we start complaining (the mist settles). By the time we’re done, we’re ruminating in the complaint and can’t see the signpost at the end of our street. (Total confusion descends) 

It’s like we’ve lost our way, without even going anywhere.  

So what’s the antidote, how can we keep the fog away? 

Gratitude.

Stay with me for a second, as Paul is exhorting the Philippians in the above passage of Scripture, he makes clear that God’s people should be living so different that they shine like stars. He goes on to say in verse 18 that the result of being poured out to honor God, and living differently will result in rejoicing. I think it’s a point that would be easy to miss at first. Cease grumbling and complaining, and it will cause us to stand out. The result will be that in living a faithful life, rejoicing is the result. Rejoicing= Praise. Worship. Gratitude.  

Easier said than done, Paul! 

When we take a look at the fact that any thought can come in, if we let it, so does the influence of that thought. Like an unexpected fog, the weather can change at the drop of a hat or as gradual as the gauzy haze that can creepily take over. Anybody and everybody around us grumbles, complains and argues. Living differently glorifies God, but living differently also requires us to do something that’s……well, different. Living differently means NOT giving in to grumbling, complaining and arguing. Is it work? Sure is! Is it worth the effort? Sure is!

Nobody wants to function in a haze. Nobody wants to live in the funk of fog. But far too few of us put our hand up to do the prevention work before the fog descends. That means before the mist settles, or the clouds loom, we have to dig into God, his word, and exercise our gratitude muscles long before the fog forms.

Here’s what I propose: I think it would be amazing (although challenging) but also amazing if we get ahead of the fog. If we create time and space or utilize a pocket in our day to fog-proof our lives, cultivating gratitude could literally, save the day. Whether it’s a discipline when you wake up, a family practice on the way to school or a journal reflection before bed……find a way. Cutting out complaining and doing the work to cultivate gratitude will change our lives.

Truth is, we can choose to let the clouds descend, or we can choose to cultivate sunshine.  

We can choose to be heavy-hearted, downtrodden and complain. 

Or we can choose for our day to be illuminated, and hope-fueled…..simply based on what we are ruminating on. 

The choice is your’s friend. Are you gonna let fog fall, or are you going to let the light in? I believe in you, and I believe that there’s sunshine on the horizon. 

Lots of love, 

Joy