OK, I’LL BE QUICK to confess that my attitude is not always full of gratitude.
• Gratitude for being a pastor’s spouse.
• Gratitude to God for allowing me to serve others and my husband.
• Gratitude for mixed-up schedules, long evangelism meetings, one more board meeting, and another funeral.
• Gratitude for the sometimes endless and often unfair expectations of others.
I could go on listing the “perks” of being a pastor’s spouse that you know only too well. Instead, I would like to list some of the real perks and challenge us all to examine our attitude in regard to gratitude.
I am amazed at all the times that gratitude has come to us through our church members.
• Fresh garden produce.
• Every once in a while—a dinner voucher for a much-needed get-away meal.
• Notes of encouragement and appreciation.
• Tears of joy from someone who received healing or truth or freedom—because of the vessel that my husband or I was for Christ.
There is no joy like it!
“[She] who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to [her] who orders [her] way aright I shall show the salvation of God” (Psalms 50:23, NASB). Having an attitude of gratitude is a sacrifice. No wonder it sometimes feels like hard work! As God shows His salvation, we will see the salvation of God. I don’t know about you, but I need to see His salvation—in my own life, in my husband’s and my children’s lives, in my church members’ lives, in my co-workers’ lives—a salvation that is demonstrated in realized hopes, in fulfilled expectations, in answered prayer.
When I stop and really think about it, I believe living out the sacrifice of an attitude of gratitude is a choice, not always an easy one, but one that returns more benefits to the giver than we even realize.
I will choose to give the sacrifice of an attitude of gratitude this week, and I am anxious to see what God will show me. Gratitude is a gift worth asking for.
How about you? Will you join the group Facebook chat* and tell us what God reveals? We would love to hear from you.
