Early on in my ministry, I found that I was easily bogged down by all the stuff that goes on in life. Getting bills paid isn’t always easy. Conflict arises out of the silliest things. The to-do lists never end, they just grow. People disappoint us. We disappoint ourselves and others. The expectations are just too high. Everything is hard, and it showed in my work and relationships.
When I confided this to a mentor, I was frustrated by his response: you need to find ways to be grateful for the ways you’re being blessed by all this! I was annoyed because I felt like he was asking me to pretend that everything was ok when it was not.
Over and over again in scripture, we find instances where and when people find reason to give thanks, even in the midst of chaos. When they take time to express their gratitude, their lives and relationship with God is changed!
I’ve found that gratitude doesn’t make me inauthentic, it shakes me out of the everyday funk of life. Mirror teaches us to try it, and real life proves that it works!
I hope you’ll join us on Sunday as we start our new sermon series: Grateful. We will follow the lives of some of our grateful Biblical leaders and see how gratitude can change us from the inside out!
Your pastor and friend in Christ,
Jenna