Catching Whimsy: A 5-Day Devotional With Bob GoffSample

Day 3 – GLOW UP YOUR LIFE WITH GRATITUDE—AND BE SPECIFIC!

Gratefulness starts by reflecting on the things God has done and recognizing His “good and perfect gifts.” The first chapter of the book of James talks about God being the origin of every good gift; our job today is to recognize them and call them out. This doesn’t mean to walk around with a giddy, dumb look on your face as if you are vaguely grateful for everything in general. Get clear about exactly what you are grateful for. For example, “I’m grateful for my oldest child, for their uniqueness, for the things that have driven me crazy about them, and all the energy they bring into every room.” Or “I’m grateful for this job I have and the opportunity it gives me to grow. The difficulties are making me stronger, and my courage is expanding by the day.” If we get more specific, we will become more grateful, because specificity and gratitude travel together.

Gratefulness can be difficult, though, when it comes to some of the harder aspects of a person or a situation, but people—and life—are multifaceted and complicated. It’s like when our lodge burned down, and we started the almost decade-long process of rebuilding. As we were picking out new marble for the countertops at an industrial showroom, I saw a slab with an elaborate swirl in it. Sweet Maria has much better taste than me and the colors and pattern were too wild, but the marble guy said, “You know what makes that piece of stone so unique is also its weakest point.” That’ll preach. We can be thankful for both the good, easy-to-love sides of people and the hard, more flawed sides of them. Those weak points might just be evidence of what makes them unique. As you’re working on increasing your gratefulness today, replace a vague concept of gratefulness with a specific sense of gratefulness. Do this, and you will begin to see more of the good things God has dropped in your life, His perfect gifts from above, coming down just for you.

Prayer:

God, help me to see the unique ways you’ve been showing up in my life. Bring to mind specific people, places, and things, and help me to be grateful even for the hard stuff.

AMEN.