Gratitude, I think many of us if asked would say of course I am grateful for what I have but that statement doesn’t always play out in how we live our every day lives. Right?

Yesterday, my husband and I went for a walk.  It was a beautiful fall day in the city of Nashville. Crisp fall air, bright blue sky, and golden leaves shimmering in the sunshine. We walked past the historic First Baptist Church which was built in the late 1800’s.  It sits right at the edge of Broadway, right before you get to the main part of the street filled with Honky Tonks and dreams of the young and old singers and songwriters trying to make those dreams come true.

I thought about all the people who have passed through these historic doors over the many years and all the stories of God’s faithfulness. This church still has an active community and I was feeling grateful or at least I thought I was  – until…  

A homeless man was walking toward us with a rose in his hand. A rose he had obviously picked off of a nearby bush that was still blooming.  He went to hand it to me and I said,  “oh no, thank you.”  He looked me in the eye and said,” I don’t want any money, I just want you to have a blessed day and enjoy this rose.”  So I took the rose from his hand and he smiled so big.  I thanked him and told him how sweet it was for him to offer me this flower and I hoped he had a blessed day too.

I put the rose in water when we got home and it has opened and is blooming.  It has been a beautiful reminder to me to open my eyes to the blessings right in front of me.  Isn’t that what gratitude is?  Often times it is right there, we just need to open our eyes, see it and be thankful.  I almost missed an opportunity to join in another person’s gratitude because it felt awkward. I didn’t have any money with me to give this man, yet he wasn’t wanting anything in return, he truly just wanted to put a smile on someone else’s face.  A gift, without any strings attached.  A reminder to me of God’s gift of grace and sacrifice.

As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, I hope you will be inspired by this story, share freely your gratitude with others and invite them in to sharing their gratefulness too. 

I am praying we all will recognize the beauty of life that is right before us and celebrate that in gratitude. 

Blessings!

Sherri