During the month of June this year,
I shared a post linking Gratitude and Resilience together.
HERE IS THE LINK if you care to read it.
It seems that this has become an area where God is teaching me much.
I've had many times since that blog post in which I could link the two together.
I certainly have not done it perfectly,
but I have learned that the two are almost inseparable.
There have been two specific instances that I can think of where I have almost given in to giving up.
Both times were when I was in a great deal of physical pain.
And then the Strength of the Lord entered into the picture.
In both instances when I reached that point of almost giving up,
I was reminded by the Holy Spirit to begin thanking the Lord for, not what I was suffering, but rather that He was wanting to teach me something...more than likely about resilience.
Instead of giving up,
I began to thank Him for every possible thing I could think of in regard to how He has blessed me.
My husband, my family, our home, the air He gives me to breathe, the way He has designed my body to make it work fairly well most of the time, the abundance of food that He has blessed us with, the ability to prepare that food, that I have a place to serve Him in our church, and the list just went on and on.
Do you know what that expression of gratitude did?
It lightened my spirit, and my pain wasn't nearly as severe.
It's all about my weakness presenting the opportunity to learn of
His Strength.
John 15:5
1 Thessalonians 5:18
I love reading your journey with resilience. Gratitude and thankfulness is so important.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Friend. Gratitude definitely is a part of resilience.
DeleteWonderful testimony friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, my friend! To God be the glory for what He is accomplishing in my life.
DeleteWhat a sweet testimony. This is a reminder that gratefulness and thankfulness aren't feelings, but acts of the will. We don't usually "feel" thankful when in pain or other low moments. But as you demonstrated, when we purposefully give thanks to God, we give Him glory and feel better ourselves as a bonus.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, thank you for your kind words of encouragement and your observation...especially that gratitude and thankfulness aren't feeling, but acts of the will. I hadn't thought of it that way before.
DeleteA lesson to share and remember, thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Bill.
DeleteThankfully, there have not been too many times in my life that I suffered with great physical pain. However, the last time I did (about 18 months ago) was probably the worst. Only God's grace got me through that...but I certainly could have used my gratitude praticing at the time. I am sure it would have helped.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, thank you for your kind words of encouragement. I have fibromyalgia and at the time that I wrote this post, I was in the midst of a flare. I've never had to endure the kind of pain that you have gone through. I am praying for you.
DeleteThat's a great testimony!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen! To God be the glory, for it is His working in my life. :)
DeletePhysical pain can be so debilitating. I'm glad you found the strength to overcome.
ReplyDeleteThat kind of strength only comes from the Lord and He so wants to be our strength, if we just let Him.
DeleteThose who are in the midst of pain and suffering are our best teachers when they lean in to the LORD. Thank you my dear friend.
ReplyDeleteTo God be the glory for the work HE is doing. Sending love your way.
DeleteI admire your faith and your resilience.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Karen, for your kind words. I can't really take credit for any of it though, because it is only through Him that I can pass through to the other side where resilience's fruits lay. ALL is of Him. xx
DeleteMany thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
You are welcome, my friend. xx
DeleteI too have found gratitude to be a powerful spirit-lifter, but never made the connection between gratitude and resilience. Of course you are right, Dianna. The former most certainly impacts the latter. Another reason to give thanks always (Ephesians 5:20)!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Nancy, for stopping by and sharing words of encouragement with me.
DeleteFirst, I'm so sorry that you were in such pain, Dianna. That makes my heart sad. But secondly, I appreciate you sharing that, because at some point, everyone knows a level of physical pain that seems unbearable. I appreciate your sweet spirit of turning towards gratitude to develop resilience. Gratitude seems to be such a lightener of so many burdens. It doesn't remove them, but can help make them bearable. Thank you for sharing this at our One Word linkup. I treasure your posts!
ReplyDeleteLisa, thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. Flares happen with fibromyalgia, but I don't always connect the need to associate gratitude in those moments in relation to resilience. I treasure YOU, my friend. xx
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