Jana Kingsford said, “Balance is not something you find, it is something you create.” I agree with her assessment. Many of us lack balance in our lives because we don’t choose to create balance. By balance I am speaking about helping to keep our physical life, our social life, our mental life and our spiritual life in some semblance of order. Just like scales, when we are too heavy in one area, it throws everything else out of balance.

Being thankful and grateful should be at the heart of our lives. A person who learns how to be thankful will seldom be ungrateful. Gratitude helps us make sense of our trials, tragedies, and past. It also helps us remember daily that life is a gift and we should use our lives to God’s glory. Gratitude can also give us a vision for our future. The children’s author A.A. Milne, wrote in his little book Winnie the Pooh these words: “Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a large amount of gratitude.” We can all be grateful for the gifts and the blessings God has poured out in our lives. But gratitude needs to be expressed. To have gratitude and not express it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it.