Gratitude Attitude

I’ve done it a million times.  Got zipping along in my life and something goes wrong and I get mad. I mean like, ‘it’s not fair’ type mad where everyone in my way gets blasted with either my bad attitude or me grumping about something.

Fr. Victor had a very wonderful homily this morning when he pointed out that the ten lepers who were cured by Jesus must have had an attitude not of gratitude.  It was kind of like they just expected Jesus to cure them and that was why they didn’t go back and thank you except for the one.

When we have an attitude of expectation of something, feeling like we are owed things in life whether it’s easy living, favors or good health, we miss out on seeing the wonders that God has done for us. We have missed that ‘wonder and awe’ moment we are given.

We don’t always do it out of selfishness.  Most of the time we are just cruising through our life, expecting to breath, expecting clean water to come out of the faucet. But it’s like when the electricity goes out in our house and we enter a room, knowing the electricity has gone out and we still switch the light switch on.  Nothing happens…and we suddenly remember, oh right the electricity has gone out.

I’m not saying that having an attitude of gratitude means every time you turn on a light and it works you have to be grateful, but what about thanking God first thing in the morning and last thing at night for the fact that you woke up and were alive all day.  Having an attitude of gratitude means thanking God frequently for what we have and to not expect everything in life to work perfect all the time.

I am the world’s worse at doing this last one.  I get spoiled very easily by cars running, having my health, my family being happy and when one of those things don’t work, I get off track quickly.

Unlike the one leper who realized he was cured, and was grateful for it, I tend to stomp and fuss and remind God of all the things I do right in my life; why doesn’t that count when I want him to help in something that hasn’t gone right?  How every spoiled I have become by my loving God!  He does spoil me and sometimes I don’t deserve it!

I wish I could remember the one leper who quickly turned around and ran back to Jesus thanking him profusely for the gift of clear skin.  I just take for granted that I can breath today, get up and take a shower with clean water, having a wonderful loving kind husband and children who love me.  But to be painfully honest, most days I don’t remember to say thank you for those gifts he has given me and spoiled me with. 

I am scared to think of the time I have wasted complaining to our Lord about my many ‘troubles’ and never once said thank you for all the gifts I have taken for granted. 

So here and now, I say thank you Lord. Thank you for everything in my life.  All the beautiful, loving things you give me and for all the things I see as trials too because I know you are trying to teach me to be grateful like that one lone leper.  I want so badly to be that one lone leper who turns and says thank you, who realizes he was so very blessed!