What if?

"What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?"

It's an interesting thought, isn't it? Kind of makes a person wonder: How different would my life be?

Would I have a roof over my head? Clothes to wear? a car to drive? Money? A loving and caring family? a job? Friends? Health?

Kind of puts things into a new perspective, doesn't it?  Maybe the better question to ask is "how much of what I have do I take for granted?"

I know if I were to be asked that question, the answer is "a lot." The "attitude of gratitude" isn't exactly one that is prevalent in American society... It seems like our attitude is more like "I want it my way, and I want it now, and God help the person who doesn't give me exactly what I want."  We look for reasons to complain about everything, and so often, fail to thank people who do things for us- when was the last time you thanked the person who does the grocery shopping in your household? (and I'm not just saying that because I do the shopping hahaha) Or thanked the people you come into contact with a daily basis, who do service tasks such as cleaning, or ringing up purchases, or answering phones... etc?

This is a crazy thought, but it occurs to me that if we took the time to be grateful towards other people that would do a lot for making the world a better place.  My prayer for this new year is that we can learn to stop taking everything for granted, and learn to be grateful for the things that others do for us, both big and small! And above all, I hope that we can learn to be grateful to God for so richly blessing us, and for sending his Son to us, so that we may come to know him, and have Eternal Life through Christ.  Just as Christ was revealed to the Magi through the light of the star, so may Christ's light shine in us, and through us, so that others may come to know Him through our words, deeds, and actions.  AMEN!!