GRATEFUL

A Grateful Heart For the small things, for the big deals For the grey ways, and the bright rays For friends that stop to care, and cares that rolled away For bodies that were prevented from wear For unprofitable ties that were broken For wisdom that brought the life and habits that led from death For hands that brought the wealth and counsel led from hell For grace that kept alive and mercy that swayed from deep wells A grateful heart, a rare find Today we bring, to the One to whom Heavens and angels bows, before whom mountains skip, and Hills melt. To whom the redeemed all come A grateful heart. Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!” The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. (Psalm 29) Beloved, as we step into a new day, let us deliberately stop to say thank you. Think about all the things in and around you that you ought to be grateful for. Make a list! The songwriter advised, count your blessings name them one by one. We need to stop, give thought to our lives, wherever you are in life, there is more than enough reason to be grateful to God. If you can read this, you need to be grateful for your eyes. If you were able to pick up the gadget from where you got to read this, it means you have hands and feet that move. You need to stop to say thank you. If whilst reading this, your thoughts went to other things, it means you are not brain dead. You need to stop and say thank you. If you can collect your thoughts, you can dream. Gratitude should be your companion. If you did not need to be visited in the hospital, you need to regard the invisible hand. Even if this met you on a hospital bed, it means there is still hope. Your case is not closed. My friend, thank Him who alone is the giver of life. If you had to wonder where your meals would come from, at least it came. Thank you is the word you are looking for. There are so many things to be grateful for. Stop to count and account for the many reasons you need to be thankful. Things are usually not as bad as the devil would have us think. If you look close enough, you will see how the hand of God has always been underneath you, ensuring you do not fall and that the paths before you are straightened. His hands are filling up valleys and levelling mountains.