Have you tried Gratitude?

They say the opposite (actually adjacent seems more accurate) of complaint is thanksgiving and I have always failed to see it and I did not know how to be grateful especially in the midst of lack; this I thought to myself while I was bathing this morning and as I was about to complain about not having a laptop and missing my deadlines for the course I was doing. The words 'Jesus gave thanks' came to my mind, so I said to myself; you know what? instead of focusing on what I don't have (like i always do, let me try something different this time), I will try to mention the times He has come through for me this past week and the result was beautiful.

Sometimes I think we always want God to show up in grandiose ways which while not bad; we may, in waiting for the 'big things' overlook the little things and end up being ungrateful altogether. 

I started listing it out to God like so: 

1. "I needed a laptop to catch up with my course for the week and you provided through a friend, thank you"

2. "when I didnt have money to get something for my friend on her birthday, you gave me ideas and helped me make sacrifices, thank you"

3. I didnt have offering money for sunday and you provided for me during the week. I was not expecting it, thank you"

As I was listing them out I started feeling all giddy inside and on my way to church, I wore my earbuds and started jamming 'worthy of my praise' by our very own Min Dunsin and Pst Lawrence and when I got to church I decided that I was going to maintain the attitude of gratitude.

While service was going on, I was operating the video camera because I'm a member of the media unit and while I was working, He whispered in my ear that I could use the media unit laptop for my work for now and I wondered how I had never thought of that before. I mean, I previously tried using the bigger computer but I could not connect my hotspot because it didnt have wifi, only an Ethernet cable but using the laptop never crossed my mind🤦🏾😂.

At the exact point I was stranded laptop wise saying thinking that I would miss all my deadlines and not be able to complete my course, He provided another way again 😭. After He had whispered in my ear, I began to smile and my thanksgiving became more wholesome because complaining about not having a laptop before was what led to my attempt to practice gratitude in the first place and now I have exactly what I need...

I have never been able to pull thanksgiving off. Sure I say thank you for the 'little' things but I often looked past them because they seemed ordinary and it is the big miracle (yes that one gan gan) that I want. But now I see that the little ones are steppingstones to the bigger ones; so basically our thanksgiving should be amping up after every 'little miracle'. Ps, nothing is little or ordinary; all He does for us is worthy of proper gratitude. 

I started this week with gratitude, I hope you can too. Try to leave all those things that He hasnt done yet, think about what He has done and just thank Him for it. You needn't burst into melodious songs of thanksgiving (you can it you want), but it can just be a simple conversation relaying your gratitude. E.g, 'I needed this and you did this, thank you' and you'll find out that you have a lot to be thankful for and your worry(ies) and or anxiety will just fade away. Yes, we can be Philippians 4:6-7 Christians!

And always remember, if you need help, Holy Spirit dey for you, just ask!

Have a God week! I've missed sharing my walk with y'all...