GRATITUDE AND PEACE FOR THE PAST
In the last post, we spoke about being thankful and mindful of our present. I hope you enjoyed it and have been blessed by the verses I shared!
But I was thinking… how grateful can I truly be for today without coming to terms with the past? Now, I don’t want this post to become a ¨downer¨, that´s not what we do here at The Nadia Kay Blog ;). I do, however, want to encourage us to invite Peace into those uncomfortable spaces. What if the past isn´t really what we remember it to be? What if there´s growth hidden in the pain, strength in the seasons we remember as ¨hard times¨?
Coming to terms with our past means we accept what was so we can move into what can be. We can take it a step further and even give thanks for everything that happened because we see the value in past experiences. Giving thanks doesn’t mean we deny how hard or painful seasons were, it means we validate them and redefine them. I want to challenge you to remember, dig, rename, and give thanks.
REMEMBER: Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, smile, and think back to what this year was to you. Maybe some things trigger happiness, as others might trigger a little bit of sadness. That's okay.
DIG: Take another deep breath. Now take a second look into those memories. Can you dig up anything you didn't see there before? Maybe you remember that friend who called you to encourage you after you received really bad news. Can you see how that uncomfortable experience made you more compassionate? Maybe you can recall the unexplainable peace you felt despite the storm around you…
RENAME: The time has come for me to inform you that you have the power to rename your memories. Yepp, that's right! I´m renaming my bad days as slow days I learned to push through; I´m renaming seasons of confusion as seasons where God was generously patient and gracious to me; I´m renaming my change of plans as opportunities to experience something new.
GIVE THANKS: Surely, I can be grateful for the strength to push through, for God's patience and grace, for new opportunities. You try! What did you discover as you dug deeper?
I´ve said it before and I´ll say it again: gratitude has the power to change our perspective. I think this requires us to dig a little bit in the dirt of our past to find the treasure. Friend, I want to challenge you to consider how those past challenges made you better, stronger, kinder, more generous, and more courageous. I know that without the failed attempts and disappointments, I would not be who I am today. Not because those things control or define me, but because God was ever so present in each of them. The challenge for this post is to be grateful for the past. There is so much good there, I promise! Think about the people who’ve invested in you, loved you, believed in you. Remember the teachers who encouraged you, the coaches who brought out the best of you, the friends who made you laugh when days were tough. Recall the times God provided for you, healed you, surprised you; the nights He was so evidently with you and the days He filled with peace.
Bill Johnson wrote: ¨I believe that the secret to mental health is to give thanks in everything. Thanksgiving refreshes our perspective of who God is, and repositions our hearts into a place of hope for the future. Is there anything we could possibly face that He doesn't already have a solution for? Thanksgiving marries us to hope¨. Well said Pastor Bill, well said!
We have so much to be grateful for! I truly believe that our focus fuels our faith, so if you’re having a tough time believing for a miracle right now, bring to mind all the ones you’ve already seen Him do. If you think you haven’t seen any miracles yet, then find stories of people who have! Start with the Bible and then look for testimonies; God is a good and generous Father! Here are a few verses to get us started in giving thanks:
