Attitude of Gratitude by Araliz Cuthbertson

 

grat•i•tude/ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/
The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Have you ever taken a moment to think back on your life? I don’t know about you, but when I do I feel blessed. Each one of our lives are marked by a series of events- some fortunate, others not so much.

At the age of 18, I thought I had it all going on. I had a brand new car, some money in my bank account, and I had been accepted to every college that I applied for. The decision to pick which one wasn’t hard at all. I was offered a full ride for one year based on my 4.0 grade point average, to which I obliged. I remember walking on campus on my first day and just taking it all in. I remember how peaceful it was to sit in the courtyard with the sun on my face, full of ambition and a desire to learn.

That same summer I started dating a guy. I was excited; It was my first real relationship and after many years of suffering from low self-esteem, I thought that I would finally find “myself”. Right off the bat there were warning signs, but in my naivety, I decided that I would give it a shot anyway. Five months into my fully paid year, I decided to do a trade program and take a break from school. This was the beginning of a downward spiral in my life. I endured abuse from that man- both physically and emotionally for six years. One could say that I wallowed in regret for many years to come after that. I felt like I was a failure because I didn’t finish what I had started. Moreover, the scars that I was left with after dealing with the abuse were at times too much to bear.

I can stand before you today and say that I now have an attitude of gratitude. I am thankful for my life. That relationship was designed by Satan to take my life, however, I am still standing. I am thankful for my failures because they taught me how to succeed. Most of all I am thankful for grace because without it,I wouldn’t be here.

Whatever your situation is today, I challenge you to give it to God and thank Him for the change that is yet to come. God orders each and everyone one of our steps. No matter how many detours we take, He is there with open arms ready to help us get back on track. Allow Him to take away the stone from where you lay spiritually dead in your life and fill you with His power and love.
John 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me”.
Father in the name of Jesus, I pray for the person reading this right now. Lord I pray that you will do a new thing in their life today. Restore, take away that which is not of you and replace it with your peace that surpasses all understanding. Lord where we have fallen short, You have met us with your mercy. In Jesus name we pray , Amen.

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Jar of Keys by Clarissa Ortiz

I believe that in life, we are presented with many doors (in this case, they represent opportunities) and keys (which represent that which grants us access to these opportunities). God gives each of us a different set of keys. He has presented me with many keys ,one of them being the ability to speak multiple languages (English, Spanish, French, and Italian).For the longest time, I felt under-qualified. I felt as if my keys or gifts weren’t good enough. I was under the impression that my Spanish wasn’t good enough because my family would always interpret it for me when my Spanish-speaking family would visit. Although they meant well, it made me feel inferior. I was always so self-conscious about my Spanish because I believed that what they thought of my Spanish was true. Recently, God has blessed me with the opportunity to be my Spanish professor’s assistant. He has also blessed me with awards in French and Italian. It’s almost as if He said, “Clarissa, people say that your Spanish is inferior, but what do I say? I say that you are well able”. You see, God has given me these gifts so that I may use them to reach people that He has called me to reach. It isn’t my job to measure my ability based on the opinions of others. I have to trust God’s report because He isn’t a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). I have said all of this to say that if God says you are able, it is because He has enabled you.
Maybe one of your keys is your voice which God will use to reach the hearts of the people of your generation. Perhaps one of your keys is your willingness to serve your church or another community. Your keys could be talents, people who God strategically places in your path, etc. These keys could potentially unlock doors of supreme importance that lead you to fulfillment of purpose.
Although we are presented with these keys, it is our job to put them to use. God isn’t going to come down off of His throne to put the key in the keyhole and turn the doorknob.
He’s a gentleman who loves us so much that He gives us a choice. We can either choose to enter the doors that lead us to life or those which lead us to destructive paths that will eventually result in death.
In conclusion, think about what you are doing with your keys. Do you look at your jar of keys apprehensively and think that they’re no good because of what people say? They may say that you have no right to go through certain doors or that your keys aren’t good enough. However, Jesus died and rose again so that you may live life abundantly (John 10:10). Additionally, Don’t compare your keys to someone else’s. If you needed what s/he has, God would have given it to you. Use the keys that you have been given.