It's been a while since I've written... I feel like since being back from Kenya, life has started going so fast and it's more of a struggle to simply keep my heart and mind engaged in the present and everything that is currently happening.
Just like how seasons change, and temperatures change around us, in our lives we are constantly growing and adapting. Change happens whether we want it too or fight with all our might. One of the best things I think we can do is to accept changes in our life gracefully, to stop clinging to things we used to have or want to hold onto forever and to surrender them to God, and to thank God for the life we are living right now and the people around us.
There's a verse in Ecclesiastes 4:6 that says "Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind." Basically to me, this verse means that if God gives us something we should be grateful and thank Him for it. But if we hold onto everything He has given us and make it about us- make it a selfish thing- instead of re-surrendering it back to Him, we will experience toil and hardship and we may ultimately lose that thing.
James 1:17 tells us that if anything good happens to us, if we experience any blessing, we should thank God for it. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." I don't know about you but I'm so glad that God's goodness and love doesn't change but that it's forever. Also I believe that this world is a world of brokenness, so where there is love, where there is hope, where there is kindness, where there is peace- that those are the places where God abounds us. That when we experience goodness that comes from God- the Father of light, the Father of hope and love.
Being grateful is so important and so often I can forget how many things I'm really thankful for. While it can be tempting to look into the future and worry about things, or look into the past and wonder why certain things happened, we need to learn to thank God for today and for the people and friends surrounding us.
When we live with a grateful heart, it literally transforms our whole mindset and fills our mind and body with peace and life. That life that Jesus gives us has the power to be radiant and to shine to people around us. I don't know about you, but that's one thing I want to work on is having a more grateful heart, thanking God for His blessings.
Because when we know Jesus, when we have his hope, we experience His love and goodness- then that is more and enough than we could ever want or need =)
