Gratitude!

Hello dear friend. My word! It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I've been seriously tied down with a couple of things of late, especially now that there's a possibility that this our little "holiday" might soon be called off. I really wasn't in a hurry to update the blog because I was still thinking about the ideal post to thrill you with after such a relatively long period of being AWOL. However, it just pricked my conscience so much how we tend to ignore certain things that we just shouldn't, especially when it comes to being grateful. It's a pity we just have to expect that ideal thriller a bit later, hehe.

So here's the deal. We pray to God all day, everyday when we need something we think is really urgent (and when things are going our way prayer no longer seems to be an option. Anyway that's a story for another day). I know I'm good at this one. During or just before exams (especially when I'm ill prepared), when I'm in some sort of dilemma, praying just seems a whole lot easier. But then when He answers our prayers as we expect, do we ever really say "thank you" ? A lot of us have wonderful families and friends who add so much value to our lives and we take them for granted (again I'm guilty), only to realise how much they really meant after we've lost them. Isn't it just sad?

We should learn not just to know it's right to show appreciation, but to actually show gratitude for little mercies as little as we may think they are. It's really not all about asking and asking and always hoping to receive. How have you welcomed the ones you've received? Virtually all of us know it's right to thank God every morning once we've woken up. How many of us really do that? If we pray at all, it's almost always about making requests. And we expect to keep receiving when we never show appreciation?

Some people are physically disabled, caught in the middle of crossfire in some of the world's war-torn countries, have no idea where their next meal is coming from, can't even find a bridge to sleep under, are the only surviving members of their families, would be marking their 10th anniversary of being on that hospital bed this Christmas and yet are able to show God gratitude, at least for still being able to breathe. You think such people have the iPhone 5 in their prayer requests?

Have you shown appreciation for the people around you to God and to these people themselves? Ever told your parents how much you love them? Ever shown your friends how privileged you feel to have them? It's not just about the things we say, but also about the things we do... especially about the things we do. Celebrate people

I remember this picture I saw on a friend's display picture sometime last year on BBM which read: "So much I desire, yet so much I am grateful for. Thank you Lord!". I think that pretty much sums it up. No matter how much we have, we'll keep asking for more. We humans are insatiable, it's just our nature, but it's only right that we appreciate what we have already.

Let's not take these things for granted. There's nothing good we can claim we deserve from God. Whatever we have, He's given out of His own magnanimity. You really do not want a lesson in humility and value from God, trust me. We're privileged and it's about time we started acting like it. Just a little something about gratitude.