01 December 2016

30 Days of Gratitude: Wrapping up 2016 with a Grateful Heart


It's the last month of 2016 and this is what I crazily decided to do---blog my heart out for the next 30 days. I type these words with a nervous heart. I don't exactly have all the time in the world with all my mommy duties and yet, here I am, embarking on a writing challenge. One thing I learned about motherhood is that there will never be a good time for anything else unless I do it whenever there's a window of time to do so (i.e. whenever Rolando comes home from work). :)

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Can you believe 2016 is about to end? I can't! They say time flies when you're having fun. I'd say have a baby and then you'll see how time just doesn't fly; it swirls with the speed of a twister.  

It's the first of December as I type these words away and a while ago, R and I were talking about how we have a long list of things we are truly grateful for in 2016. To be parents for the first time in a foreign land where we have no family is hard. I'm in awe of how God has sustained us this year, physically, mentally, spiritually and financially. The only way I can think of processing all these "things we are grateful for" is by writing about them, one day at a time for the next 30 days. 

Gratitude is an attitude I'm still learning to cultivate in me to be honest. I'm a relentless worrier by nature and in the most challenging times, I can be the most ungrateful person. In the most unfavourable circumstances, I can lose sight of the Giver and Provider of all good and perfect gifts. 

My biggest takeaway in 2016 is to be very mindful when using the word "blessed" in conversations, both in social media and day to day life. I was convicted by this article, The One Thing Christian Should Stop Saying, and since reading it, I vowed to say the word "grateful" more instead of "blessed."

It is my hope that I'll be able to finish this challenge, for a change. :) It is also my prayer that this attitude of gratitude will leave a lasting dent in my heart, that this cultivation of thanksgiving will overflow in 2017 and that above all else, a thanksgiving should be given to whom it is due---to God and in Him alone.
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." ~ 1 Chronicles 16:34 

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