HOLD THE PIECES TOGETHER
You started the year with great expectations; putting up 'new' year resolutions with intense hope of fulfilling them- 'what to do' and 'what not to do': all geared toward the actualization of your major goal(s) but deep into the year and with barely one day to go, your efforts have yielded no substantial result and the year seems to be ending on a low for you with frustration and regret taking their toll on you. Certainly, the nonachievement of one's top goals could be quite dispiriting; leaving you with a feeling that life has not been fair to you but before you allow this submission perfuse your mind, have you considered the other pieces? The other pieces are those things you might have overlooked as 'little': the food on the table; the shelter over your head; the clothes that cover your nakedness; the ease with which you use the convenience; the unexpected favour you received from that stranger...to mention to mention but a few. Yes, you might have missed on those aspirations [of yours] and you think there is no cause to be glad but you need to look away from the failure that may be beclouding your mind and see the reason why you need to rejoice and it is for the fact that you are reading this today- you are alive. In this regard, this very moment is not one to mourn over what did not come to be but a moment to give thanks.
HOLD THE PIECES TOGETHER
You started the year with great expectations; putting up 'new' year resolutions with intense hope of fulfilling them- 'what to do' and 'what not to do': all geared toward the actualization of your major goal(s) but deep into the year and with barely one day to go, your efforts have yielded no substantial result and the year seems to be ending on a low for you with frustration and regret taking their toll on you. Certainly, the nonachievement of one's top goals could be quite dispiriting; leaving you with a feeling that life has not been fair to you but before you allow this submission perfuse your mind, have you considered the other pieces? The other pieces are those things you might have overlooked as 'little': the food on the table; the shelter over your head; the clothes that cover your nakedness; the ease with which you use the convenience; the unexpected favour you received from that stranger...to mention to mention but a few. Yes, you might have missed on those aspirations [of yours] and you think there is no cause to be glad but you need to look away from the failure that may be beclouding your mind and see the reason why you need to rejoice and it is for the fact that you are reading this today- you are alive. In this regard, this very moment is not one to mourn over what did not come to be but a moment to give thanks.
Your Breath: the most precious piece
It is important to hold the pieces together- a way of counting your blessings- and the dearest of all these, is your breath. Thus far, you have been preserved and you do not have to pay for the most essential thing- atmospheric oxygen/the breath of life- you need. It has been provided without a charge.
I could recall vividly how a beloved aunt of mine laid in bed, some years back, in need of an external source of oxygen [which came at a huge cost] as her respiratory system had failed in its capacity to draw in atmospheric oxygen...I could imagine the pain she went through. Life is indeed precious and it is the only reason why one can think of actualizing certain goals...without life, all hope is lost. So, before falling apart [in hopelessness] ponder on this: you have something that someone [in a silent city] wish they had hence cherish it and be thankful.
Gratitude evokes Hope
1Thessalonians 5:18: in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
This is a moment of thanksgiving to God, who has so preserved you. Even as you take stock of the outgoing year, it is expedient that you put up an attitude of praise, irrespective of what might have been this year. There is something about thanksgiving: it 'revitalizes' your hope for a brighter and better tomorrow. When you give thanks, you set yourself in position to receive more for 'it is in giving, that we receive'. Moreover, God's expectation from us is that we give Him thanks and to do this, you need not have a big dream accomplished but rather make those 'little' things count...hold the pieces together! Look back at 2016 with a grateful heart and enter into the new year with songs of praiseYour Breath: the most precious piece
It is important to hold the pieces together- a way of counting your blessings- and the dearest of all these, is your breath. Thus far, you have been preserved and you do not have to pay for the most essential thing- atmospheric oxygen/the breath of life- you need. It has been provided without a charge.
I could recall vividly how a beloved aunt of mine laid in bed, some years back, in need of an external source of oxygen [which came at a huge cost] as her respiratory system had failed in its capacity to draw in atmospheric oxygen...I could imagine the pain she went through. Life is indeed precious and it is the only reason why one can think of actualizing certain goals...without life, all hope is lost. So, before falling apart [in hopelessness] ponder on this: you have something that someone [in a silent city] wish they had hence cherish it and be thankful.
Gratitude evokes Hope
1Thessalonians 5:18: in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
This is a moment of thanksgiving to God, who has so preserved you. Even as you take stock of the outgoing year, it is expedient that you put up an attitude of praise, irrespective of what might have been this year. There is something about thanksgiving: it 'revitalizes' your hope for a brighter and better tomorrow. When you give thanks, you set yourself in position to receive more for 'it is in giving, that we receive'. Moreover, God's expectation from us is that we give Him thanks and to do this, you need not have a big dream accomplished but rather make those 'little' things count...hold the pieces together! Look back at 2016 with a grateful heart and enter into the new year with songs of praise.