This blog article is to stimulate gratitude for the simple things in life…the blessings that are by their thousands, every day, but that often go uncelebrated.
I’m sat in a restaurant in Torbay in Devon looking out to sea. There’s an Easterly wind today which is good news for surfers because the waves are churning, and I’m thankful. I very much appreciate the sea because it gives me a sense of ‘inner space’ to think and feel. It’s actually really grey and wet and cold too….but I’m still thankful for the sea. Really thankful.
I’m thankful too for a healthy appetite – being able to order a JP and eat it with no problems in my body, not to mention the £4 in my account to pay for it. Such a simple thing to be thankful for but, if it were taken away, I’d miss it big time.
I’m thankful that I’ve got two wrists that work without any pain so that I can type this and two eyes that can look up occasionally to look at the inky grey waves with their white froth. I’m thankful that I have a car parked outside (The Beast – it’s done 135’000 miles and owns the roads here) – it’ll take me to where I wanna go later without having to get wet. Amazing!
What’s in your immediate world today that you’re thankful for but which could easily be missed or that you take for granted?
And this spirit of gratitude and thankfulness can spring up in us even in the midst of difficulty.
My right ankle that I broke when I was 14 means that I can’t really play the sport that I truly love anymore, (football), because when I do it swells up and makes me limp. But my other ankle is awesome and the rest of my body is really strong and well….so I can do pretty much anything else – including kite-surfing or pushing myself to the limit in the gym or body pump (yeah a bit lame but great for building lean muscle mass). So I am super thankful for that!
And the best thing is that His mercies are new EVERY morning. It’s getting dark now but when it gets light again tomorrow His mercy extended to me again will be new…and you too.
Thank You!
firebrandnotes.com 
It’s light again outside!
Great points…well presented, Nick! Yes, I know what you mean about being thankful for things we normally take so blithly for granted esp. in the foot department…I had a foot op. in December but not healed yet Grrrrrrr! getting cabin fever big time. I am thankful that I have learnt to limp much quicker. God bless
Oh, dear. Well, trusting that you’re on the mend! 🙂
Great reminder brother. My wife’s really enjoying ‘Chosing Gratitude’ by Nancy Leigh DeMoss at the moment. We’ve been challenged to give thanks for ALL things from the Father’s good and wise hand. We were finding it particularly hard when we had powercuts that just affected our flat and one or two others in the compound. Easy to be grumpy when your neighbour has power and your fridge is getting warm. But then a few weeks ago there was a massive power surge on the lines into the compound. Loads of our neighbours had all their electrical equipment fried or even catch fire. It seems our flat was experiencing one of the selective power cuts at the time and we were comletely fine. It reminded me of the far more serious and amazing story of Corrie ten Boom giving thanks for the fleas that later turned out to be what was keeping the concentration camp guards from inteferring with their Bible study.