Gratitude is Heart Work

I’m happily married with three awesome kids, living in a home my husband renovated, with three dogs, four chickens, and a garden to boot. My husband is a discipleship pastor, and I am an English professor. Sounds like a good life, doesn’t it?

You would probably think I ooze gratitude. The embarrassing truth is, I struggle to feel, express, and live daily in a posture of genuine gratitude.

That’s not to say my life is picture perfect. Like anyone, I’ve experienced hardship, loss, and setbacks. When I dwell on those, I can easily get lost in self-pity and regret. But even when I’m not dwelling on my heartaches, I still find myself gritting my teeth and expressing far more frustration than grace.

An idealist at heart, I struggle to be thankful for the many good things that are always happening right in front of me. My life never looks quite as good as the picture I’ve painted in my mind. The more my life veers away from that picture of the life I want, the more tightly I wrap my fingers around the imagined life  to which I feel entitled…..Join me for the rest at The Glorious Table…