Lost Art of Gratitude

Guest post by Kate Powers

Growing up in an alcoholic home left me at a desperate crossroads at the age of thirteen. In pure desperation, I asked God for help—a solution, path, or sign, anything to guide my journey. It was clear I couldn’t do it alone!

God heard my plea for help. He worked through a family member to get me to my first Ala-Teen meeting within weeks.  At that first meeting I heard words that carried me through many difficult experiences. I recognized the lifeline God sent me and I have been saying thank you ever since.

My first understanding of true gratitude came during those teen years.

Gratitude is strangely powerful. Simultaneously an emotion and an action, which may account for the power it holds.

I believe we grow into gratitude through the course of our lives. The way we are grateful and how deeply we feel this emotion matures as we mature through our life experiences.

Since those early years, God has blessed me with countless miracles, blessings and gifts which leave my heart bursting with gratitude. I work to respect these miracles and blessings by paying attention to the people placed in my path, never missing an opportunity to help another,  and everyday doing what I can to be an instrument of God’s peace here on earth.

I am grateful for the struggles of my childhood and my adulthood. I give thanks both for my marriage and my subsequent divorce. I am honored that God chose me to mother the amazing people who are my children.  I thank God for my financial struggles during my divorce. I am grateful for the difficult choices I have made since re-launching my business. Each struggle brought me closer to God. Each hardship forced me to trust in His plan more. Each decision required full leaps of faith. Choices and decisions are easy to make when it is just yourself you are concerned with but mix in children and a widowed parent and that requires a real faith and trust.

Today I am grateful for each of these choices and experiences that allow God to show up in big ways in my life. I am most grateful for the work God does in the hearts of others through my life struggles. I fully grasp the words “a wretch like me.” I’ve lived it.

Yes, there will be more hard choices to make. Life sends challenges, big and small. I thank God for these opportunities to be grateful for His everyday miracles, knowing He walks beside me, carrying my burdens if I am willing to let go of them.

 

About Kate Powers: Published author, speaker and coach, Kate shares information, experience and useful tools to help women rethink their limiting beliefs, incorporate their values in all areas, reduce emotional baggage and move forward with confidence and knowing.  Kate has been a passionate advocate for her clients for over 10 years and recently released her second book. To learn more visit http://kfpowers.com

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