Last week, I interviewed Mary K. Mohler all about growing in gratitude and how to live this out in everyday life. The discussion was based on her new book Growing in Gratitude. As I've been reading through her book and meditating upon the interview with her, I've resolved to change some things in my own life when it comes to gratitude.

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Cultivating Gratitude in Everyday Life

1) Gratitude in Difficult Times

This is perhaps the hardest time to cultivate gratitude in our lives. I know there have been difficult times and times of grieving where it can hard to know how to turn my heart to thanksgiving. But I know that even in those difficult times, God is calling me to praise His name and give thanks. 

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"I love spring flowers. They are some of the most beautiful parts of God’s creation. If money was no object, I would place vases filled with multi-colored bouquets all over the house. Roses are among the most beautiful and fragrant. We have no problem thanking the Lord for the beauty of every rose he allows us to enjoy, each one delicately created by our Creator in vibrant color. Yet I cannot recall even one time when I thanked the Lord for placing sharp thorns along the stems of those beautiful flowers, and I’m guessing you can’t either. There is nothing beautiful about those thorns, yet they are not there by accident. God chose to place them there—probably to protect the blooms from animals who may want to eat them." - Growing in Gratitude, Chapter 7.

She goes on to quote: 

"My God, I have never thanked thee for my thorns. I have thanked thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to thee along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of your rainbow look much more brilliant.'

How stunning it is for a blind man to speak of the brilliant colors of the rainbow! Oh that we would learn to thank the Lord for our suffering in specific ways as Matheson did. He asked the Lord to teach him four things: the glory of the cross he bore, the value of the thorns, the closeness to the Lord they brought him, and the brilliance of the Lord in the process. Perhaps this would be a good exercise for us as we test our sincerity to grow in gratitude."

And finally Mary sums up this chapter by saying, 

"This leads us to believe there must be a value in the thorn because, otherwise, God would not allow it to exist. He makes no mistakes. He is never mean-spirited or unkind. He sent his only Son to purchase our redemption. We are his! So, as Spurgeon wisely said, we go with that. We trust the heart of our all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God even when we don’t understand his purposes. We must trust him and keep praying, even with groans."

Recognizing that the "thorn" may have nothing to do with me except for God's Glory. 

2) Expressing gratitude to my husband (and kids) more 

This has been a growing conviction in my heart lately. We've had some battle of wills in our house lately with some disciplining and discipling we've been doing with the kids. This of course leaves me feeling discouraged, tired, and yelling some days. This also can cause Jason and I to be exasperated with each other.