Gratitude to God
Rush Limbaugh often said, “Words mean things.” As a person who prefers honest, open communication, I appreciate a good dictionary meaning of a word. It doesn’t escape my notice that the word Gratitude has within it the word Attitude, minus a T.
Attitude is a noun that means a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something. Take for instance, my attitude towards my abuser, my dad. When I was around him as an adult, my frame of mind was to be polite and calm, not to be triggered to PTSD by something he said. I was determined to focus on the fact I had forgiven him for the abuse and not dwell on the negative memories.
I choose to have gratitude to God for helping me heal from the trauma of abuse. Another noun, gratitude is the quality of being thankful, a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Other synonyms are acknowledgment, indebtedness, a sense of obligation. I acknowledge it was God who gave me courage and strength to forgive my Dad. I want to show my appreciation by being grateful to God, and kind towards others who have suffered similarly.
I am indebted to God for helping me cope with the bad memories during my recovery and help me replace them with better ones. Although there were few, I found some. Because I have lived a life of many happy experiences and good accomplishments, I feel a sense of obligation to God to pay it forward. I speak to others about my experiences to encourage them they can find hope and healing from abuse. I am grateful for the good that has come from my bad experiences such as compassion for the suffering of others. I have intuition to see abuse in people who are trying to hide it. I am thankful for the physical and emotional healing I have experienced that causes me to enjoy life more.
My path to healing was through my personal faith in Jesus Christ, as well as qualified Christian psychologists. Maybe that is not your path. But I challenge you to focus your attitude on gratitude for any positive person or experience you have in life. Fill your mind with what is good, pure, healthy, and kind. Resist focusing on the negatives. Tell someone you are struggling and ask for their help to find professional counseling to heal.
There is a great and powerful God in heaven who sees all that concerns you. Submit to His authority today and feel gratitude for the greatest life experience for now and eternity, finding faith in Jesus Christ. See page 151 in my book, Back from Broken, for guidance.
Happy Thanksgiving friends. I am grateful for you.
Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:26 ESV