Reflect a Grateful Heart and Be Whole!

GRATITUDE IS A SPIRIT THAT WILL SPREAD LIFE and HEALING! 

No matter what is going on in your life today, begin to think upon the beauty that is around you! Absolutely nothing, NOTHING, is going on that you cannot find something to be grateful for! It's called PROPER PERSPECTIVE!! 

Today is the third anniversary of my daughter Amanda's birthday since she went home to be with the Lord almost four years ago.

As I was contemplating what I could write about that would not only honor her but also the Lord, I couldn't help think about THE SPIRIT OF GRATITUDE! And the fact that we are now in the month of November, which is America's month to celebrate being thankful, it is MOST FITTING! 

Amanda was my second born out of five children. What I remember about Amanda that stands out most is how she would always come back and say THANK YOU, MOMMY AND DADDY in a neat and thoughtful way whenever we did something special for them. 

 Like on Christmas, Easter or Valentine's Day, she would create a card or a dressed up letter to say THANK YOU and draw pictures of all the things we gave her! This always touched my heart to think of a little child being thoughtful enough to turn around and come back with a gesture of gratitude! It made her stand out!

And it's not that it made the others seem like ungrateful children, because they most certainly WERE NOT!

If I can brag on my children for a moment, I feel like I have the BEST 5 ON THE PLANET!! GOD SURELY BLESSED ME WITH THE MOST WONDERFUL CHILDREN!! I consider myself to be the MOST BLESSED AMONG WOMEN!! 

But it's just that HER ACTS OF GRATITUDE SHINED OUT AS A LESSON FROM GOD! 

I believe that every child that comes into a home is a GIFT FROM THE ALMIGHTY ABOVE packed full of characteristics and attributes that are needed somehow for that particular family that they are born into; and with Amanda came a wide display of BEAUTIFUL GIFTS from a LOVING FATHER ABOVE for our family and one of those gifts being A  DISPLAY OF GRATITUDE, or A THANKFUL HEART! 

This unusual thing about Amanda has echoed in my heart for years since her life has so greatly touched mine! Even though her TRAGIC AND UNTIMELY DEATH at sixteen years old almost four years ago, nearly ripped my heart in two, forever changing my life, I FEEL A SPECIAL GRATITUDE INSTEAD to a LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER for giving ME the opportunity for being the LUCKY ONE to be her mother!! 

Her life and her death have both been a thing of beauty and pain; a wonder for me to learn from! Her life was a true and unusual blessing as she was one of the most loving and gifted children; a life of memories of joy and fun I will always treasure...

 

AND her death was a thing of pain and sorrow so great that it catapulted me straight into the COMFORTING AND LOVING ARMS OF JESUS CHRIST! It has resulted in me knowing my God and Father INTIMATELY and helped me create a RELATIONSHIP LIKE NO OTHER that will never be ripped away from me, bringing me EVERLASTING LIFE AND PROMISE!

Her death brought me ever so close to God, which resulted in me understanding what her life AND her death was really about! HER LIFE WAS A GIFT, NOT ONLY TO ME, BUT TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD;  a seed to springboard many ministries that will ultimately result in the salvation of many!

So today on her birthday, instead of feeling sorry for myself that I cannot see her and celebrate with her, I feel grateful for the PRECIOUS TIME I did have with her, and I want to thank her and God for that!! I choose to see the SILVER LINING IN THIS!! 

I am reminded of one of my most favorite Bible stories! It's the story when Jesus healed ten lepers, and one of those was a man who was overwhelmed with a spirit of gratitude and came back and gave thanks to Jesus. As a result of his display of gratitude, the leper got more from Him!

Not only was he healed from leprosy, but as a result of his returning to give thanks to the Lord, he was restored and made whole!! That meant for him that his skin would be new, as though he had never been leprous to begin with! The other nine lepers would still carry their scars to remind them; and sometimes that meant missing fingers and toes!

"And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole!"  Luke 17:12-19

Being grateful will make us whole!! In the past few years, as many have witnessed my peace in my storm, some have often wondered how it was that I could have such joy and peace after losing my daughter to suicide! But it was in my act of running to Jesus and being grateful IN THE STORM that HE MADE ME WHOLE! That means that He not only comforted me, but also that He restored me, giving me a sense of peace and joy as if it never had even occurred!   

In the midst of chaos and pain, choose to look for the silver lining, even when it's difficult to find. Sometimes it can seem impossible to find and you may think it's not even there, but it always is!!
Choose to be whole today and count your blessings!

I love you, and may God bless you!!