Gratitude: A Secret Weapon

“When gratitude becomes your default setting, life changes.”

I found this on a meme the other day, written by Nancy Leigh Demoss. I took a picture of it, thought about it, set it aside, and promptly forgot about it.

BUT…a day or so later Life happened.

Someone said something that threw me into a bit of a tailspin. They didn’t do anything wrong. There was nothing for us discuss to work it out. I just got hooked by the insecurity fishing pole, and I was ridiculous enough to take the bait. It was never about them. Just me. (Shocker.)

Getting Back on Track

Well, I cleverly invented a necessary trip to the store in order to find some time to sort things out. I thought about it and tried to convince myself that the words were unintentional. I tried to logic my way through it. My time was running out…and I didn’t feel any better.

I prayed. I tried to get mad at the devil for messing with me. I was failing. And I was almost home.

Inspiration

Then I had a flashback. I remembered the “thankful”meme. I wanted my life to change in that moment. Could gratitude work for me?

I began to name things off. I’m grateful for my family; for the mountains; for my God; for my health; for my children…and so forth. And then my gratitude for the one I felt insecure about came up.

Understand…this is someone I love. So I made my thankful list pertaining to this person, and it grew longer and longer and longer.

It Worked!

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This did change everything! I was no longer thinking of myself. I was thinking about how much I loved this individual and how grateful to have this association. In that very moment the insecurity left; I felt at peace again; and all was right in the world.

I’m learning that living in a place of gratitude will affect far more than feelings of insecurity. I’m actually looking forward to using this “secret weapon” in many situations and to work on making it my own default.

Will you try it?

What experiences have you had with gratitude? I’d love to hear them below.

Are you ready to learn more about the power of gratitude in your life? I’d love to help.