One night recently, I went to sleep with pink eye.
The next morning, I woke up grumpy.
I couldn’t wear my contacts and had to pull out my ugly fifteen-year-old glasses.
Yuck.
Then I had to squeeze antibiotic drops in my eyes every four hours.
Yuck again.
I felt itchy and drippy all day.
And grumpy.
Did I mention grumpy?
I didn’t say them out loud, but I thought grumpy thoughts. Lots of grumpy thoughts.
All day long.
At the grocery store (wearing my ugly glasses and blinking my itchy eyes), I inhaled the 100-degree air and grumped some more. Why is it so hot? My shirt is sticking to my back. I can’t half see through these crummy glasses. I miss my contacts. Contact lenses never fog up. My eyes are so itchy!
Then I got a phone call from a friend—who was recovering from poison ivy—all over her body.
Suddenly, my itchy eyes didn’t seem so itchy.
On the way out of the store, I offered my cart to a man with a tube forcing air into his nose carrying an oxygen tank over his shoulder—and who was smiling.
Smiling.
Suddenly, the air going into my perfectly healthy lungs didn’t seem so oppressive.
As I slid behind the steering wheel, I thought of how many people would love to have a pair of glasses (ugly or not) to see through.
Mental pictures of Lion’s Club eyeglass donation posters surfaced in my memory.
253 million people are blind or have moderate to severe distance vision impairment.
- billion have near-vision impairment simply because they don’t have a pair of glasses.
Suddenly, my ugly glasses didn’t seem so ugly.
I fumbled in my purse for the bottle of eyedrops and leaned forward to look into the rear-view mirror. Dropping another drop of medicine in my eye, I thought of Pete, whose world has grown increasingly dark since he was diagnosed with an eye disorder at nine years old. And Tim, who was a landscape photographer before he began losing his eyesight. And Jackie, who’s never seen colors, stars, or her husband’s face because she’s been blind since birth.
No medicine in the world can cure their eyesight.
Suddenly, those annoying drops weren’t so annoying.
As the soothing drops mingled with my tears and leaked from the corners of my eyes, the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart.
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV).
So there I sat, happily breathing 100-degree air, wearing ugly glasses, dropping antibiotic drops into my itchy eyes, and praising God for His mercy and grace.
Goodbye grumpies. Hello gratitude.
If you’re struggling to feel grateful today, I get it. Gratitude doesn’t come naturally. Sometimes the Spirit of God corrects us in the moment, and other times we must run intervention. Allow the Spirit of God and the Word of God to minister to your heart through these simple steps.
- In your own words, tell God about your grumpy feelings. There’s no use hiding them. He who knows our minds and searches our hearts already knows. Tell Him what’s discouraging you and accept His comfort.
- If grumpiness has caused you to sin, ask God’s forgiveness. Feeling grumpy (like feeling afraid or feeling angry) isn’t a sin, but it can lead us to sin. In my case, grumpy thoughts led me to grumble and engage in self-pity. If this is the case for you, ask God to forgive you.
Father, I confess that by lingering in my grumpiness, I’ve sinned against you by ____________ (being ungrateful, engaging in self-pity, etc.). Please forgive me (1 John 1:9).
- Accept God’s forgiveness and cleansing.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
- Corral your thoughts and direct them down grateful paths (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Answering these questions can get you started:
- What do I have to feel grateful for today? (Think physical, emotional, and spiritual.)
- How has God shown Himself faithful to me in the past? Can I trust Him with this?
- Where have I seen recent evidence of God’s love and care for me?
- Who do I know who’s facing a greater challenge than I am with gratitude and faith?
- Thank and praise God for His faithfulness to you. Put on “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3 KJV).
- Look for someone to serve or encourage. “Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).
Emotions like sadness, fear, or grumpiness are part of our human nature. We can’t control when they knock at the door of our heart. Thankfully, through the power of the Spirit, we don’t have to open the door and welcome them in.
Thank you, Father, for your goodness to me. I have so much to be grateful for—my salvation, the Holy Spirit that lives inside me, your unfailing love. Sometimes I forget how much you’ve blessed me. I find it easier to grumble about what I don’t have instead of feeling grateful for what I do. I’m glad that even on my worst day, I don’t have to feel hopeless, because you are with me. Open my eyes to see your fingerprints on my life. Fill my heart with gratitude and banish grumbling from my lips. Bring someone to my mind or across my path who I can minister to in your name. Amen.
—Written by Lori Hatcher. Used by permission from the author.
23 Responses
This was what I needed today. I needed to be reminded of ALL I have to be thankful for. This year has been one health challenge after another, back surgery, out of control high BP, bacterial pneumonia and flu at the same time, vocal cord damage from acid reflux. So, at times I’ve been grumpy going through seemingly endless tests for all these things. But I was just reminded that I need to be grateful for our hospital with Drs who can diagnose, order tests, prescribe meds to heal all the things going on in my body. And yes, as I walk through the hospital I see so many who have something so much worse than me. So I will remember to stop, when I feel like grumbling and instead give thanks and praise to our God who is SO GRACIOUS to me and provides ALL that I need.
Amen, Connie, you’re absolutely right. We can view health challenges as burdens or be grateful for those who care so well for us, including our faithful Father. Good by grumpies, hello gratitude!
Needed this today. Im really tired. Of this long season of difficulty and challenges
It’s easy to grow weary during hard seasons, Marcia. Thankfully, our kind Father knows and cares. He’ll carry our burdens for us if we surrender them to Him each day. Praying for you, sweet friend!
Oh my how I need this! My recent hip replacement surgery has left me with a banged up knee that didn’t like being twisted, pummeled, manipulated and pounded on-who knew? So my recovery is being hindered by my knee. I am a gym rat so imagine how I chafe at my current limitations. Nights are the worst. The pain, which isn’t that bad, amps up and the tears flow. I needed this post yesterday but didn’t read it until this morning and now it is what I will read every day. Thank you!
I’m praying for you, friend, as you recover. May God grant you peace and comfort as you heal and full mobility in the future. thanks for sharing your story.
A wonderful reminder.
We always have something to be grateful for.
The Lord is always with us.
I know He carries me, the majority of time.
This was right on time. I am so glad I opened up this email. My allergies has me down bad, I never experienced this before and I was sitting in self-pity… God was so intentional with making sure I read this devotional.. Thank you so much 🙏🏾🙏🏾 for sharing… Forgive me Lord🙏🏾 I have so much to be thankful for.!!!!
Tarsha,
Isn’t He kind to whisper (or shout) exactly what we need to hear, just when we need it the most. What a blessing we have in our very personal God.
Simply beautiful ! Well stated !
A perfect eye opener for us all .
Thanks so much . God bless . Amen , 🙏💕🙏🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷
Carmen,
I see what you did, there. An eye-opener for sure 🙂 Blessings to you!
Wow! This has really spoken to my heart.
I too have my grumpy days and the Holy Spirit reminds me of how blessed I am. It seems I am always left with big messes to clean up after my family. I would grump my way through and complete the unholy task but complaining all the way. Then I was reminded that l was physically able to do this when many others not only wish they could do it but had families to do it for. This changed my perspective on things. I still struggles sometimes but I now know how to turn my grumpy thought into Thanksgiving.
Thank you for this thought provoking article. Happy Thanksgiving 😊
What a beautiful perspective, Nancy. YES! we are so blessed to be able to do “menial” tasks that others would love to have the strength or ability to do. May we never take this for granted.
Lori,
I am so very thankful for you and your wonderful, encouraging blogs.
May God richly bless you and your family on this Thanksgiving Day and the days ahead.
Love,
Ann (Gibson)
We love encouraging our sisters in CHrist. May you have a joyous holiday season, Ann!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INSPIRING WORDS.
You are most welcome Carolyn. Have a wonderful holiday season!
ThANK YOU FOR THAT STORY ABOUT TURN A FROWN UPSIDE DOWN. It was a blessing to have read it.
Turning a frown upside down — I love this, Daniel. Well said! Thanks for joining the conversation.
I loved reading this
Thanks so much for joining in, Renee, and being a faithful reader. God’s blessings to you!
Laurie thank you as you always show there is a positive side.
Prayer is powerful.
KBC member♥️
Yes, it is, Ms. Sharon. Thanks so much for joining the conversation. Hugs to to you!