Grateful for the Roof Over my Head

I spoke about gratitude in recovery to the patients in our residential program yesterday morning. I shared my story about the darkest moments in aftermath of my husband’s overdose. My marriage was in shambles. I was heavily in debt, working an unfulfilling job, living in my parent's basement, and paying a mortgage on a house 5 states away. I tried to get that house to sell for over a year, entering in and out of contracts about 7 times. I replaced the roof to help it sell. Two months later, I finally entered into a contract that seemed like it would finally stick. But before the sale finalized, a tree fell on the roof I had just replaced...

I spoke on the importance of maintaining a posture of gratitude and joy in hard times. During this time, gratitude was NOT happy smiles and laughter. Instead, it was a CHOICE to rejoice in the Lord even when I did not feel like it. That often happened with tears in my eyes and hands open wide. As I spoke, I was reminded to be grateful for where God has brought me and how he has used all my difficulties thus far for my good and His glory. I can trust that he knows the bigger picture and has my best interest in mind. I do not FEEL grateful for this difficult journey I am on right now. But I can choose to maintain a posture of gratitude because I trust that God loves me and has a plan, even in this, for me. 

I can be grateful for the roof over my head, even if there's a tree on it, because I know God had a purpose for that tree and a plan for me.  

I ended by sharing a reading from Courage to Change and I thought it was especially fitting for me. "Today I am aware of many gifts and wonders because I am actively practicing gratitude. So I thank my Higher Power for little things as well as big ones. I am grateful for the snooze button on my alarm clock that gives me a few extra minutes of sleep, as well as for the roof over my head, the clothes on my back, and the ability to give and receive love."

"Even the darkest of moments can be faced with a grateful heart, if not for the crisis itself, at least for the growth it can evoke with the help of our Higher Power." In All Our Affairs

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