Some people just don't have the ability to show gratitude. My mother is a complainer and for a long, long time I avoided her just to not have to listen to it. She ruined a lot of family get together's for me. I finally realized that she doesn't have great communication skills, she's the matriarch in a family of really witty people and she's not witty, my brother and I (AND my dad was) are all great conversationalists and always up to date on current events and she's not. She was brought up really poor, one of 8 kids, ( she lived on a farm and they didn't have indoor plumbing) and my dad was brought up in town. She never really knew what fork to use, etc and he was totally comfortable in any environment. She seems mad at the world. Now, I make a point to call her often and find out how she is doing. Guess what? She still complains but it doesn't bother me as much.
2 comments:
Hi MS :)
I tend towards complaining, when I get into my "blue funk" moods, but realized yesterday (something I always had head knowledge of but it really hit me in a profound way yesterday) that the Lord blesses me with thousands of blessings every day, and of all the blessings, I overlook them all so I can dwell on (and go on and on about) the one or two things that really ticked me off that day....and wallow in my misery, robbing myself (and anyone I force to listen to me) of joy and thanksgiving to God.
It was humbling, and it made me truly joyful and thankful :)
MsN:
We all have those days when showing anything becomes a chore...we're tied up doing other stuff.
I always try to show gratitude, no matter how small the gesture, because someone else went out of THEIR way to do something for me, (or give to me like a birthday gift)...that kinda thing.
I think when we learn to properly APPRECIATE all that life (and those around us who wish to give of themselves) has to offer, we can pass that forward a LOT easier...and that's a really neat thing when we can do that.
Gratitude and appreciation seem to go hand-in-hand.
Excellent post.
Stay safe (and do keep cool) down there.
Post a Comment