October 2024 – The Turning Points of Life

Gratitude – A Power for Transformation

Gratitude is a deep sense of appreciation when one receives something undeserved. Gratitude has the power to transform our thinking. Using each gift we receive is the height of Gratitude.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It can turn a meal into a feast,

a house into a home,

a stranger into a friend.

– Hazelden

Gratitude is an ATTITUDE. Appreciation is the root of Thanksgiving. Appreciation is the exercise of wise judgment, delicate perception, keen insight and sensitive awareness in realizing the worth of someone or something. EXERCISE means that we must consciously work at it. WISE JUDGEMENT means we use our knowledge and experience for discernment of truth. DELICATE PERCEPTION means we look at the fine points, consider that which meets only the inquisitive and searching eye, magnifying what appears at first glance to be small. KEEN INSIGHT means we take a sharpened cut to see into something, to get at what is not obvious, to what is inside and beyond the casual view. SENSITIVE AWARENESS means we are willing to be vulnerably open to get to that which may be hidden even by our own fears. REALIZING is making something very real to us. WORTH is value. When we practice with zeal appreciation, gratitude becomes our attitude and thanksgiving flows generously and sincerely from our hearts.

The power in gratitude, thanksgiving, is that it emanates out of profound recognition of having received something completely undeserved. It can be so easy to fall ito the idea that we haven’t received enough in life. That in some way we have been short-changed. We have this destructive inclination to measure ourselves by our neighbors. The consequence is that we see them has having more and that more is undeserved. This kind of thinking destroys our vision of the real gifts we possess. As the famed parable of Jesus, “for the kingdom of heaven is like . . .” wherein three servants each receive talents according to their ability and hence not equally, we tend see ourselves as one with the least talents. [Matthew 25:14-30] The consequences of this can be devastating.

The message is that it is critical that we discover our talents, the gifts that God has given each of us according to our ability. It is eye opening when we set out to discover these gifts we have received and the profound gratitude that fills our heart, mind and soul.

There is fascinating book that brings an interesting possibility to the parable of the servants that received talents. “The Servant with One Talent” by Michael V. Ivanov explores a continuation possibility for this servant who failed.

There is another character of Gratitude. It is succinctly presented by Cicero.

This statement “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others” immediately recalled the fruit of the Spirit. What greater virtues exist other than the fruit of the Spirit? Gratitude surely is the most powerful when it is the first thing in heart and mind when we begin a new day or when life’s challenges become overwhelming to steal our ability to sleep. Gratitude is potentially the solution to all negativity in our life including grieving. One might say that gratitude is the arch enemy of chronic pessimism.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

I urge you to explore how you have experienced gratitude as it opened for you a grip on the other fruit of the Spirit. I invite you to share them with me and my readers.

Turning Points

Realizing more vividly the power of gratitude, causes me to protect my sense of gratitude from the daily onslaughts of the world’s noise that tries to inflict negativity on my senses. This is truly a turning point.

Grieving and Gratitude

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

In my day-to-day experiences, I find so many souls grieving. It almost seems like they are attracted to me in some strange way. As I have been grieving for over seventy-seven years, I must be some sort of authority on this deep emotional and spiritual reality of life. As I have navigated over eight decades of grief, I have experienced ever deepening understanding of how to experience grieving in a positive way, one that doesn’t steal away my peace and comfort. Therefore, I am very sensitive and observant to catch little and sometimes subtle revelations of positive touchstones for grieving more rewardingly.

My other articles on grieving within this blog attest to numerous of these discoveries. It’s also comforting to note that learning how to grieve with positivity enables us to be a blessing for others, helping them to discover what we have learned.

My latest revelation came as I scrolled through social media and came across this beauty.

This is one of those moments when two critical truths intersect. I have a passionate appreciation for gratitude and its power to transform one’s thinking and perspective. When my eyes first fell upon the words in this picture I immediately thought of grieving. That’s because I have found that we can find joy, yes JOY, in grieving. (See Grieving V in this blog for more on grieving with joy)

I urge you to explore how you have experienced gratitude as it opened for you a grip on the other fruit of the Spirit. I invite you to share them with me and my readers.

Turning Points

With all the negative publicity on the evils of social media, I find it a positive thing when such goodness can come from posts such as the one in this article. For me it is a turning point in seeing another benefit of gratitude.

Being an Angel

Hebrews 13:2 New King James Version

²Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

We understand that angels were created by God before the earth and heavens. He created them to serve Him and to do His will. They were created differently from we humans. They have unique characteristics making them free of some of the human limitations we have. However, key to understanding angels is their purpose, to do the will of God the Father.

Scripture makes many references to angels and thereby reveal their function and purpose. There are many words in the Old and New Testaments showing just how God used His angels in myriad situations to convey His will to the people for their blessing.

In the life of Jesus from beginning to earthly end an Angel played a key role. Firstly, an angel spoke to Mary to prepare her for her unique role in the great plan of salvation.

Luke 1:29-31 New King James Version

²⁹But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus.

And then as Jesus faced His grueling sacrifice in the Garden and angle came to give Him the strength to accomplish His task.

Luke 22:39-44New King James Version

The Prayer in the Garden

³⁹Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. ⁴⁰When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

⁴¹And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴²saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” ⁴³^[Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Now let’s look at the question; Can I be an angel? Can a human being be an angel? The answer I believe is NO. We do not have the characteristics of angels. However, I believe we can function as angels, and often without realizing it. I have experienced something that can be considered being an angel unwittingly for someone, a stranger.

I was at social gathering at which I was not acquainted with everyone attending. After greeting a few people who I knew, I noticed a lady sitting all alone. I greeted her, a perfect stranger, and introduced myself. She introduced herself as Mary. As we spoke and shared our backgrounds, we found common ground and had a delightful conversation. Suddenly her husband joined us. She introduced us and the conversation continued without Tom contributing. Tom just sat quietly taking in the conversation.

For some unknown reason I initiated the topic of grieving into the discussion. I knew nothing of this Tom save for his name. As I spoke, I introduced the concept of ceasing to consider that someone who died “passed away”. Rather we should think of them as “passing on”. I explained how when we consider what our friend “passed on” to us in our unique relationship with them we will find authentic gratitude for the treasures we gained. I went so far as to say that when the gratitude reaches profound status in our heart and soul, we can find joy in our grieving. Joy that we were so blessed to have had such an extraordinary life together with our deceased friend. (See multiple Grieving Articles at this blog for the essence of my conversation)

Without a word, Tom abruptly arose and walked away. I feared for a moment that what I said may have offended him. As I watched him leave, I saw him walk away from the group and disappeared alone down the lane.

Mary then confided in me. She said, “He needed that!” She proceeded to tell me that he had lost his best friend a few months ago. He was having a hard time finding peace and comfort in his grieving. His wife further explained the depth of her husband’s relationship with his friend who had passed and the frustration he was experiencing.

Shortly afterward I was leaving and saying my goodbyes Tom came to me and thanked me for my words. His smile revealed that what he had heard had changed something for him.

During a conversation about “being an angel” a few days later, it dawned on me that I functioned as an angel to this man, a total stranger. In retrospect I now understand why I spontaneously initiated a conversation on grieving. Was it God reaching out to him, perhaps even answering his prayer? I was simply “functioning” as an angel. I was not an angel. But to this man I suspect I filled his need and as such he saw me as an angel.

[See “My Son is an Angel” article on this blog for more on angels]

Turning Points

It is a humbling experience to realize that God would use me to be a blessing for a total stranger. When I have the courage to allow the Holy Spirit to inspire something that seems out of left field, good things ensue. It prompts me to keep aware of what the will of God is calling me to do.