By Rev. Wende Grant

Why is Gratitude so important? Can it really help us? Why do people make it sound so easy? Why should I be Grateful when I feel so mad?

I know first hand how hard it can be to be Grateful when bad things happen, when sad things happen, and when things anger us.

It’s really hard to think about being Grateful when we are confronted with the most difficult moments of our lives.

Although in my experience, something good almost always comes out of the most challenging of times.

We all know that after a forest fire, when time passes, the land becomes more fertile and that life grows back even fuller and stronger than before.

The same can be true for each one of us if we are open to it.

God doesn’t promise us a perfect life with no problems, but He/She promises to walk by our side every step of the way.

I am of the belief that our soul came into this incarnation to have the human experience of life, to feel joy, sadness, anger and every emotion in between.

Our soul made the agreement to come here to learn, grow, and evolve for its highest healing and highest good from all that it experiences in this lifetime.

It seems as though we, as human beings, tend to learn more from the experience of overcoming trauma and difficult situations than we do when life is easy.

It took me quite a few years to agree with Padre Paul when he said, “It’s all good, even the bad is good.” I now really understand this and believe it with all my heart and soul.

With that being said, having Gratitude for all of our experiences, no matter what they are, is what gives us the ability to learn, grow, and evolve…which again, is what I believe to be our entire purpose for being here.

Having Gratitude is a practice. It can be difficult at first, but when one experiences the benefits and the glorious transformations, it becomes much easier.

Living in Gratitude can be used as a form of prayer, as well as experiencing a relationship with whoever God is to you.

It can also be used as an incredible tool for manifestation.

Being thankful is so powerful that one can use it in prayer and visualizations to help us create all that we want in our lives.

Neale Donald Walsh, the author of Conversations With God taught the importance of thanking God in advance as if you already have what you want in your life. I will never forget reading his book around 30 years ago and how much that lesson impacted my life.

Having Gratitude has the power to change one’s perspective from a negative way of thinking to a much more positive thought process.

When we begin to live our lives in true Gratitude, we open the door to a new way of living.

This simple practice of changing the words we use each day can help change one’s entire life.

Instead of saying, “I have to” start your day with, “I GET TO!” I GET TO eat healthy today.

I GET TO workout today.

I GET TO go to work and earn money today.

I GET TO see my friends or family today.

I GET TO make a difference in someone’s life today.

Life is all about perspective. When we are able to change our thinking by living in the conscious state of Gratitude, it gives us the ability to change our life.

Michelle Zanoni Chin and I are looking forward to sharing some of our most challenging personal experiences that have led us to live our lives in deep deep Gratitude. We Hope you will join us. Find more information and sign up here.

With Love & Gratitude,

Rev. Wende Grant

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” ~ Marcus Aurelius