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Gratitude Makes the Difference
Have you ever had those times when no matter what you did,
you just couldn’t seem to get a breakthrough? You’ve spent time fasting,
praying, and making lists of what you want. The vision board is done. You’ve
named it and claimed it, yet the realization of your dreams continue to elude
you. At this point, you’re tired, frustrated, and ready to scream. During your
darkest times, you may even rant and rave, curse the universe (and possibly
everyone else too!), and throw in the towel. You’re on the verge of giving up,
convinced that all the things you’ve been taught are a lie and that dream
fulfillment is just not in your cards. Hold on before you throw all of your
years and effort into the rubbish bin.
There is a small key to turning your situations around that
makes all the difference. It’s gratitude. Oh before you blow me off and roll
your eyes feeling as if you’re about to be assigned one more thing to do that
won’t bear fruit…just give me a minute.
For starters, it’s important to know that I have been where
you are. I have had the life where it seemed on the surface to me that nothing
was working. Relationship issues, parenting issues, issues with my parents,
financial hardship, physical ailments, a job I hated, no real success in the
areas where I wanted them most. Shall I go on? You name it, I had it.
One morning while traveling to work, and let me say when
you’re traveling to work in the middle of the night where there’s just you and
a few other people on the road, there’s lots of time to think, I remember just
praying and talking to God about how unfulfilled I was. As I talked to Him, an
overwhelming urge to be thankful came over me. It was like I’d been given the
opportunity to see my life through a different set of eyes. I may not have the
job of my dreams, but I was employed and in those moments since working there
able to pay all of my bills. Issues with my child were very frustrating, but I
had been blessed with a child. My parents, though frustrating, loved me and
were still alive. I had not achieved the kind of success I wanted with my
creative endeavors, but opportunities presented themselves to me daily to do
things I’d only dreamed of doing. My relationship status was far from what I
wanted it to be, but I could truly stop and be thankful that some of those men
from my past had moved on. I was better off with them not being in my life. For
the first time I could see that being single was a blessing and not a curse.
Sometimes a partial thing is not better than nothing at all.
Then something clicked inside of me. It was like the more I
looked at my life and found things to be thankful for, the more circumstances
revealed themselves to me for which to give thanks. While the promises had not
manifested in my life the way I thought they would have by that time, there was
still the promise itself to be thankful for.
The floodgates had opened up. During that hour-long car ride
in the wee hours of the morning, I felt my spirit shift from depressed,
frustrated, and angry, to optimistic and hopeful. For the first time in my
life, I realized how blessed I am…and have been all along…even in the midst of
extreme hardship. That morning I realized that despite physical pain, emotional
pain, and voids in other areas of my life, I had much to be grateful for. In
that moment, I saw a glimpse of God’s heart towards me, towards his children, and
I got it.
Who wants to go out of their way to bless someone who is
always complaining and whining about what they don’t have and who never
acknowledges what they do have? As a parent I know first hand how irritating it
is when my child complains to me about how much she doesn’t have when I am
bending over backwards to make sure she has the bulk of what she wants and all
of what she needs.
Almost immediately I could see a shift. It wasn’t physical
at first. No, instead it started on the inside of me. How I saw my life was
different. I made a promise to myself to give thanks every time I wanted to get
frustrated and spew off words that would take me in the opposite direction from
where I wanted to be. I decided to make it my business to see my blessings and
when I couldn’t see them on my own, I prayed and asked God to show me the many
ways He was blessing my life, so that I could be thankful. It was a very
humbling experience.
It wasn’t long before channels of blessings began opening up
and the floodgates began to pour out what I’d been believing for.
Here are some things to think about. There are spiritual
laws that govern the universe that are always at work, whether we are aware of
them or not. The Law of Attraction is one of them. With the Law of Attraction,
what we focus on becomes a giant magnet that draws more of those experiences to
us. If we are not mindful of our thoughts and words, we actually work against
ourselves by focusing on what we don’t want instead of what we do want.
Example. We say, “I don’t want to be late!” By thinking this way, we actually
draw experiences that will slow us down getting to our destination. However, if
we say, “I get everywhere I’m going on time,” it literally causes everything in
your path that would slow you down, to move out of your way so that you can get
where you’re going on time.
With that in mind, when we focus on what we don’t have and
spend time complaining about our lack, it causes more lack to manifest. It’s
like coating pipes with sludge and prevents water from flowing through freely.
However, with practicing the gift of gratitude, and yes it is a gift, we are giving
those pipes a good cleaning so that the channels of blessing and prosperity
open up and flow freely.
No matter how challenging things are in your life right now,
Beloved, if you just look a little deeper, you will see that you are blessed
more than you know. Even if you start giving thanks for the breath you are able
to breathe, that’s a wonderful place to start. For in truth, nothing would be
possible without the breath of life.
Know this, no matter how difficult your life has been, this
is not all that you are destined for. You have an amazing destiny before you,
one full of blessings, peace, joy, happiness, and abundance. Believe it or not,
more than you want to be blessed, God wants you to live in the fullness of all
that He has for you. Determine this day to let gratitude lead you into the life
you were created for. You are worth it!
Changing lives one word at a time...Tumika Patrice Cain
Originally published in Fresh Lifestyle Magazine, April 2017
_________
Tumika Patrice Cain is an award-winning author, media personality,
and motivational speaker. Through her imprint, Inkscriptions Publishing &
Media Group, she provides high quality, affordable, mentor-based publishing
services to indie authors, as well as inspired, empowering messages of hope and
abundance through her media outlets. Her works can be found in many
publications, including Fresh Lifestyle Magazine. To learn more about Tumika,
her books, and her services visit the following websites. http://www.TumikaPatrice.com
and http://www.InkscriptionsPMG.com
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