For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God. // Baruch 1:21
My whole body tensed as I glanced at the text on my screen: My son can’t bring your daughter home from school today. He has a club. Calculating how many minutes it would take from my afternoon to drive to the school and back, I was both annoyed at this last-minute change and overwhelmed by my other commitments. But mostly, I felt an indignation at the loss of my plan for the afternoon and that I had to give up what I wanted.
This, my dear sister, is an example of the plague of ingratitude which I have let dominate my life. Rather than being thankful for all of the things I am blessed to do, I respond with sorrow and discontentment.
I see in my own heart the wayward ways of the Israelites who were given so much from God: the Promised Land, a covenant relationship, a promise of a Messiah. Like them, I begin to see my blessings—my talented, hardworking husband, our four beautiful children, the opportunity to educate them, work that I love, food to cook and serve—as a burden. And like them, I end up in a type of exile—unhappy and longing for a place of joy.
The solution to the problem is actually quite simple: turn back to the Lord with gratitude. Instead of seeing all of these things as burdens, I can see them as blessings.
That day that I changed my plans and picked up my teenage daughter, we had fifteen minutes of good, cheerful conversation together, which was a great blessing. And situations like that also prompted me to restructure our daily life, so that I could appreciate my blessings with less stress.
Sister, take some time today to examine your own life. Are there blessings that you see as burdens? How can you foster more gratitude for your blessings? What might you need to change to make them feel less burdensome?
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher-in-training living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of all of the Blessed is She Gospel Meditation Studies. She was narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God and a contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She is the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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