Gratitude is an easy virtue to practice when things are going the way that you want them to. Little children learn at young age to say thank you for gifts and compliments. This type of gratitude develops naturally. In a positive situation it is easy to find thinks to thank Heavenly Father for. It is easy to find your blessings and acknowledge them.
However when you are going through a difficult time or a struggle, it may not be as easy to develop your gratitude. While it may be more difficult it is just as important that you work to find things to be grateful for. Finding the positive aspects in a negative situation can help you to acknowledge that the Lord has not left you alone. If your situation is so bleak that you truly can not see anything to be grateful for, begin to look outside of the situation, and you will be able to find things to help you feel gratitude.
Gratitude is the ability to be thankful. In some ways it can go much deeper. It is acknowledging God’s hand in your life. It is finding joy in the little things of life. Someone who focuses on gratitude is able to find a greater peace than someone who does not focus on gratitude. By looking for things to be grateful for you are simply looking for the positive things in your life.
There have been times in my life when I have struggled to find things to be grateful for. These times have full of indecision, dark moments of trial, and nearly always I have felt very much alone. As I took the time to pray, and feel the Lord’s love I began to find little ways that He had blessed me that day. Small things that would normally be inconsequential suddenly showed me that I was not alone. Looking back at these times in my life I am grateful that I experienced them, though at the time I could not imagine anything positive coming out of these negative situations.
Now when I begin to feel the despair that comes with many trials, I immediately begin to look for something to be grateful for. It is not always easy, and I am not always successful, but it helps me to acknowledge the Lord. It also helps me to draw my focus away from the negative events in my life. The process can be as simple as listing three things that you are grateful for each day. You need to change the list everyday, and soon your gratitude will begin to develop
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